Twentieth-century music is explored from both a historical and a theoretical perspective in this enlightening text. Bryan R. Simms addresses style and structure with equal care as he chronicles the evolution of music from the time of Schoenberg to the work of such current composers as Schnittke and Gorecki. Throughout the book, Simms focuses on a number of influential compositions, examining 107 major works in depth as vivid representatives of music in our time.