While there is an almost universal resignation to not listening for tone
rows in Schoenberg's music, it is in fact verymuch the reverse of his own
goal. What other reason to open a work with a recitation of the rows, as we
find in the Piano Concerto? He thought the the method of 12 tones was like
the contrapunctal - read imitative - rules of compositon, and that in fact
the unity of the row would be the means by which listeners would follow the
works. That this, among many other ideas, has been abandoned points to the
philosophical failure of his project: he wanted music which was the old
raised to a new level, but wound up being embraced by those who wanted a
musical sound world utterly different.

Stirling Newberry