Contemporary Composers — Edition Insights

Mason’s Critical Framework

The preface reveals Mason’s criteria plainly. He dismisses composers who use folk-song local color (Grainger), dance or stage picture (Ravel, Stravinsky), colored lights and perfumes (Scriabin), mathematical formulas (Reger), a priori theories (Schoenberg), or nerve-stimulant noise (Ornstein). His own preference is for music that follows 'the obtrusive canons of his art'—a traditionalist stance that privileges structure and emotional expression over programmatic or sensational effects.

This framework is not merely stated but demonstrated. In the chapter on Strauss, Mason criticizes the 'dross of cheap sensationalism and irrelevant melodrama' mixed with the composer's gold. He traces a decline in German music from Bach through Brahms to 'the stagnant morasses of contemporary Kapellmeistermusik.' The reader should watch how Mason applies these standards consistently, praising d'Indy for 'lucid intelligence' and Debussy for subtlety while faulting Strauss for excess.

The German Decline Thesis

Mason argues that German music, once supreme, has fallen into decadence. He attributes this to a lack of 'intelligence, discrimination, moderation, and taste'—qualities the typical German, in his view, lacks. The great stream that flowed through Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms has ended, he writes, in 'stagnant morasses' or 'showy but unsatisfying jets of sensationalism.'

This thesis is central to the book’s structure. Strauss, the one German genius Mason includes, is treated as a mixed case: capable of gold but tainted by 'cheap sensationalism.' The reader will note that Mason’s chapter on Strauss likely balances admiration for his craft with criticism of his excesses. Meanwhile, the chapters on Elgar (English), Debussy (French), and d'Indy (French) serve as counterexamples, with France—especially through Franck and his pupils—presented as the bearer of a 'clear tradition and a hopeful future for instrumental music.'

The Franck–d’Indy Lineage

Mason devotes considerable attention to César Franck and his pupil Vincent d'Indy, whom he calls 'to-day dominant in the group.' He quotes d'Indy’s own account of his first meeting with Franck: after playing a 'formless quartet,' d'Indy was told by Franck, 'you know nothing at all.' D'Indy initially rebelled, then admitted Franck was right and asked to be accepted as a pupil. This anecdote illustrates the discipline Mason admires.

Mason praises d'Indy as 'a composer of genius, a lucid writer, an able organizer, and a teacher and conductor of singular magnetism.' The chapter on d'Indy likely emphasizes his role in continuing Franck’s tradition of 'intellectual clarity' and structural rigor. For the reader, this section provides the positive pole of Mason’s argument: music that combines emotional power with formal intelligence, as opposed to the sensationalism he decries elsewhere.

Reading the Excerpts as a First-Time Reader

The excerpts available are from the preface and the d'Indy chapter, plus the closing copyright material. They do not include the chapters on Strauss, Elgar, or Debussy. A first-time reader should note that the preface functions as a manifesto: it announces Mason’s criteria and his exclusion of many contemporary names. The d'Indy excerpt shows Mason’s method in action—using biographical detail (the Franck anecdote) to illustrate aesthetic principles.

When reading the full book, pay attention to how Mason structures each chapter. Does he begin with biography, then move to analysis of representative works? Does he quote other critics? The preface suggests he will be evaluative, not merely descriptive. Also note the date: 1918, during World War I, which may color his national judgments. The book’s title promises 'Contemporary Composers,' but Mason’s selection is deliberately narrow—a choice that itself invites scrutiny.

Mason’s Contemporary Composers is best approached as a critical essay collection rather than a neutral survey. The preface supplies the key: Mason values structural coherence and emotional sincerity over novelty or programmatic effect. As you read each chapter, test his judgments against the musical examples he cites. The book’s historical interest lies partly in its confident national generalizations and its defense of a Franck–d’Indy tradition that later criticism did not always sustain. Let Mason’s own criteria guide your reading, but feel free to question them.

Mason’s Contemporary Composers has long felt like a conversation held in a quiet room, weighing French clarity against German fervor without raising its voice. That same thoughtful restraint appears in Woman's Work in Music — Themes and Context, where overlooked voices finally get their turn. Both books share a patient ear for what lingers beneath the noise—music’s quieter, more persistent truths.