Honegger could be said to be a mix of styles, never loosing the audience in his attempts to produce and present a piece of intelligent substance . Honegger's symphonies evoke a certain kind of value in them that you wouldn't get with other contemporaries. For example, the fact that his music reflects the organization and some of the pure eighteenth century harmonies of Bach.
Symphony Number 1 by Honegger is a dazzling presentation of color that I find is similar to many twenty-first century composers today. His color flourishes are breathtaking in their exquisite form and structure and are extremely beautiful to the ear. For example, when he combines the tonality with the hints of Gershwin (the syncopated Jazz rhythms) with the patches of dissonance contained in the measures after the Gershwin rhythms (for example, when the strings and horns culminate in a clashing and turbulent chords juxtaposed against a tonal framework).
On first listening to Symphony no. 2, this is the most angst-driven I have ever heard of coming from Honegger. It is the most "atonal" of the five symphonies in the set. Yet, it is not atonal because the composer returns to tonal harmonies at varying places in the piece, which means he is indeed composing using his ear and not doing just what his famous contemporaries were doing. In the piece, there is much uncertainty as if the rug is pulled out from underneath the feet of the listener as the texture works its way to a yet undefined climax. For example for much of Symphony No. 2, Honegger spins the harmonies in an upward motion, slowly building tension, but then slowing back down to where the tension is just a hint of what it originally was, creating such an angst that keeps listeners on the edge of their seats. These symphonies are a pivot point between Bach and Schoenberg. It’s like at a rock in the middle of the ocean. One goes in a forward direction and the other direction is before the rock.
