The Musical Idea and the Logic, Technique, and Art of Its Presentation, New Paperback English Edition

The Gedanke manuscripts, from which The Musical Idea is compiled, are legendary writings of Arnold Schoenberg. Central to his concern was his concept of the "musical idea," which represents the wholeness of the musical work and embraces Schoenberg's notions of motive, gestalt, phrase, theme, rhythm, harmony, and form. Ultimately, the musical idea is the vision of the composer by which a musical work achieves unity in relation to the means by which the work is comprehended in its unity by the listener.

Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) is one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century music and musical thought, perhaps best known for his development of Twelve Tone theory.

Patricia Carpenter (1923–2000) was Professor Emerita, Barnard College, and former Vice President of the Society for Music Theory.

Severine Neff is currently Eugene Falk Distinguished Professor in the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.