This study of the music of a group of important composers of the twentieth century includes Debussy, Webern, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartók, Janácek, Britten, Carter, Birtwistle, Andriessen and Adams. Arnold Whittall explores the cultural contexts and critical perspectives which shed light on certain works by these composers. In particular, he reveals the continuum between the progressive and the conservative underlying the great variety of styles and musical genres in twentieth-century composition.