* Breaking away from traditional tonality: Webern's music, along with that of his fellow Second Viennese School composers Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg, explored atonal and serial composition techniques.
* Emphasis on form and structure: Rather than relying on traditional melody and harmony, the focus shifted towards creating intricate and complex structures.
* Experimentation with sound and timbre: Webern's music often uses short, fragmented melodies and sparse textures, emphasizing the individual sounds of instruments.
While technically part of Modernism, Webern's works are often classified as belonging to Late Romanticism or Post-Romanticism. He explored the ideas of his predecessors (like Wagner and Mahler) but pushed them further into abstraction and minimalism.
So, while "Second Viennese School" and "Modernism" are the most accurate labels, it's helpful to understand Webern's place within the broader context of musical history.