Schoenberg’s music, although very unique and experimental, has some elements in Impressionism and Early Abstraction. Impressionist music is created so that clear structure is subordinate to harmonic effects. Schoenberg’s pieces lack traditional form for the sake of the beauty in atonality. Early Abstraction has no clear representation – Schoenberg’s music does not reflect the poems by Giraud and the only representation is through the lyrics. Giraud’s Pierrot Lunaire is light and comedic while Schoenberg’s presentation of the poem evokes a heavy sense of anxiety and a confused mental state. The music is very disconnected from the poem, for example, one of the stories is about Pierrot playing the viola and although there is a viola in Schoenberg’s ensemble, it is scarcely (if at all) used in that piece. I believe it is fair to call his work “expressionist” because it truly does bring out the inner mental state (usually angst – I feel a lot of angst listening to the music) and seeks that initial reaction from the listeners in the audience due to the lack of connection to the stories. Atonality’s appeal, in my opinion, seems to be that it is experimental, new, and different. There may be a beauty to it, yet most listeners ears are trained and accustom to Western music’s form.