This volume sheds new light on the origins of early serial music at the end of the 1940s and the beginning of the 1950s. Current music historical accounts of the development of serial music need to be revised in two ways. It is important to correct both the Eurocentric approach and the exclusive attention to the already well-documented 'heroes' of serial music (Boulez, Stockhausen, Nono, Pousseur). The significance of Milton Babbitt is put into perspective, as are the idiosyncratic contributions by Herman Van San, Karel Goeyvaerts, Michel Fano, Jean Barraque or Bruno Maderna. The contributions to this collected volume deal with the historical position of these composers by analyzing their composition techniques and aesthetical frameworks. In addition, Brian Ferneyhough clarifies his relationship with the legacy of early serial music.