This work provides readers with a certain number of keys that they can use to better understand and listen to music. The author's goal was to identify and explain the main paths followed by musical works in the 20th century and put them in perspective so as to clarify or demystify them.
What is meant by « dodecaphonism », « Esprit Nouveau », « postmodernism », « spectral music », « real-time » ? What role did such composers as Cage, Xenakis, Boulez play in this 20th-century interlude of musical history ? What contributions have the latest technologies made to musical composition ? These are but just a few of the many questions addressed clearly and precisely within these pages, with the aid of scores of works.
From Schönberg to Philippe Manoury, Éric Tanguy and Jonathan Harvey, we learn the manner in which the composers approached their work, their way of thinking and their methods of composing. A very extensive bibliography (600 titles) — updated with the most recent books available — rounds out this musical ensemble, making it an indispensable work tool.

Marie-Claire Mussat teaches musicology at Université de Rennes 2.