September 13, 2017, marked the 143rd anniversary of the birth of Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951), one of the most transformational composers of the previous century.
Schoenberg began composing music in the Romantic styles of Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, and Gustav Mahler, a few of the leading German and Viennese composers of the 19th century. Some of his greatest works in this style include his massive Gurre-Lieder for vocal soli, chorus, and orchestra (1900–1911), a string sextet, Verklärte Nacht, op. 4 (1899), and also his String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, op. 7 (1904–1905).
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Schoenberg was also a music theorist who wrote many books about music. His most important is Harmonielehre (“Theory of Harmony”) from 1910, which captures his analyses of previous composers and his own philosophies.
Soon after the turn of the 20th century, however, Schoenberg began to develop a new philosophy towards the organization and structure of his composition. Tonal (Harmonic) music, since its inception in the late-1500s, was always structured around a central tone: a tonic and its key. In other words, when you listen to music from Bach to Brahms, you can hear (or learn to hear) the tonal center of the music—both when it is absent (departure) and present (resolution).
Soon after the turn of the 20th century, however, Schoenberg began to develop a new philosophy towards the organization and structure of his composition. Tonal (Harmonic) music, since its inception in the late-1500s, was always structured around a central tone: a tonic and its key. In other words, when you listen to music from Bach to Brahms, you can hear (or learn to hear) the tonal center of the music—both when it is absent (departure) and present (resolution).
Schoenberg’s new idea of “atonality,” however, frees a composer from the notion of tonal center so they the music becomes completely expressive. One notable work in this period includes the vocal-chamber piece Pierrot Lunaire, op. 21 (1912). The songs in this work sound dissonant, because there is no tonal center for dissonances to resolve, but they have a motivic logic that unfolds throughout. Schoenberg’s project was to “emancipate” dissonance.
Following his service for the German army in the First World War, Schoenberg began to formalize a system of atonal composition that equally treats all 12 notes between octaves (the chromatic scale). He called this dodecaphonic composition and it is what he is most known for today because many of his students (famously, Alban Berg and Anton Webern) used it in their works. Some of his works in this style include Suite for piano, op. 25 (1921–1923), Third String Quartet, op. 30 (1927), and Fourth String Quartet, op. 37 (1936).
Schoenberg, although he renounced his Judaism before World War I and although he was a tenured faculty member at the Prussian Academy in Berlin, became wary of Hitler’s ascendance in 1932 and the rising anti-Semitic propaganda. In 1933 (at age 59), through friends and former students, Schoenberg was able to leave Berlin with his family and eventually move to California to teach at USC and UCLA. In the United States, he continued to compose in the dodecaphonic style until his death in 1951. Two notable works (of several) from his time in America include the Violin Phantasy, op. 47 (1949) and String Trio, op. 45 (1946).
You can listen to Schoenberg’s music on The Naxos Music Library in the Yocum Library’s Online Databases and read more about his dodecaphonic theories and legacy in Rene Leibowitz’s book, Schoenberg and His School.
Following his service for the German army in the First World War, Schoenberg began to formalize a system of atonal composition that equally treats all 12 notes between octaves (the chromatic scale). He called this dodecaphonic composition and it is what he is most known for today because many of his students (famously, Alban Berg and Anton Webern) used it in their works. Some of his works in this style include Suite for piano, op. 25 (1921–1923), Third String Quartet, op. 30 (1927), and Fourth String Quartet, op. 37 (1936).
Schoenberg, although he renounced his Judaism before World War I and although he was a tenured faculty member at the Prussian Academy in Berlin, became wary of Hitler’s ascendance in 1932 and the rising anti-Semitic propaganda. In 1933 (at age 59), through friends and former students, Schoenberg was able to leave Berlin with his family and eventually move to California to teach at USC and UCLA. In the United States, he continued to compose in the dodecaphonic style until his death in 1951. Two notable works (of several) from his time in America include the Violin Phantasy, op. 47 (1949) and String Trio, op. 45 (1946).
You can listen to Schoenberg’s music on The Naxos Music Library in the Yocum Library’s Online Databases and read more about his dodecaphonic theories and legacy in Rene Leibowitz’s book, Schoenberg and His School.
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