Arnold Schoenberg 3 - 1268 Words

Arnold Schoenberg was one of the greatest musical influences of the mid 20th Century. He was born on September 13, 1874, to a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria (Schoenberg 1). Schoenberg was a young Jewish man during World War I (WWI) living in Berlin. He was directly affected by the invasion of the Nazis. In 1933, he had to leave Berlin and desert his faith for Lutheranism later on taking on the faith of Judaism. At the early age of eight, he began violin lessons and almost immediately started composing music (Schoenberg 1). He was self-taught until the age of 10 when he began formal training (Schoenberg 1). He earned a living by orchestrating operettas, directing a cabaret orchestra, and teaching. Schoenberg influenced the music and†¦show more content†¦This variety of talent allowed him to construct a larger audience. As a musician he only reached those who loved music. With his other talents he was able to attract art lovers and readers. This allows various vehic les of passing on his tradition and culture. He expressed himself in many ways through his self -portrait paintings, postcards, impressions and fantasies. He started writing and composing in a beautiful twelve-tone musical language unlike any other. The twelve-tone is where all 12 pitches on a scale are utilized however, they are all treated equally (Schoenberg 1). No note is more important than any other. Schoenberg output demonstrates constant change and growth in musical style and technique. Schoenberg loved paintings and music. When Schoenberg painted he expressed himself with the Expressionist styles of paintings. The Expressionist style is where the artist focuses on personal subjective feelings (Norton 1). His music was freely blended with a variety of musical tones. His paintings were reflections of things that were happening in his life. For instance, the tragic death of his painting teacher may have encouraged his works to be lifeless. Schoenberg admitted that he only looks one in the eye so further detail is not noted therefore, his paintings become worse and worse (Journal IX1). His self-portraits begin as pictures but end up like sketches for this reason. The War and the havoc of the NaziShow MoreRelatedArnold Schoenberg s Drei Klavierstucke1148 Words   |  5 PagesArnold Schoenberg’s Drei Klavierstà ¼cke, Opus 11 (Three Piano Pieces) represent his first fully atonal work, which would become the basis for moving forward in his later atonal and serial works. Schoenberg believed that music history naturally pushed forward and that tonality could not contain music forever. He believed atonality was the next step and Schoenberg admitted, â€Å"The most decisive steps forward occurred in the Two Songs, Op. 14, and in the Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11.† However, smallRead More John Cage Essay4284 Words   |  18 PagesJohn Cage Defined in the 1950s John Cage is considered by many to be the defining voice of avant-garde music throughout the 20th century. Fusing philosophy with composition, he reinvented the face of modern music, leading composer Arnold Schoenberg to declare, Of course hes not a composer, but hes an inventor -- of genius (Kostelanetz 6). For Cage, the 1950s brought a series of critical events that both refined his message as a composer and brought him great fame, or infamy to some. His interestRead More Musical Modernism with Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg1894 Words   |  8 Pagesmade to please the listeners but carried meanings about life itself. With the modernist movement emotions other than love, anger and joy has started to be portrayed more securely and concisely. Composers like Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg are very well known supporters of the Modern era with the pieces they composed. Claude Debussy, the composer who was considered by many as the dominant figure of the translation from Romantic era to Modern era, born in 22 August 1962 and diedRead MoreMusic That Subverts The Standard Form Of Arranging Sounds Produced By Musical Instruments And Approaches1457 Words   |  6 Pagesthe start of the 20th century in Vienna, Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils Alban Berg and Anton Werbern, known as the Second Viennese School (following on from the First Viennese School comprised of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven), were the first, among others, to develop serialism as a compositional style. By 1921 Arnold Schoenberg had developed what is seen as the origins of Serialism, the twelve-tone system. Schoenberg arranged every note of the chromatic scale in a particularRead MoreWhere Schoenberg Went Wrong ( Or Right ! )1852 Words   |  8 PagesWhere Schoenberg Went Wrong (or Right!) Arnold Schoenberg believed that the developing harmonic language of the late nineteenth century had led to a musical crisis. He felt that tonality had been stretched to its absolute limits, and that what was to be said within its confines, was already best done by the great composers before him. Schoenberg believed he existed within a lineage of composers, and therefore, was the successor to deliver the next big innovation in music. This idea of pushing musicRead MoreNeoclassicism Vs. Modernism Essay1174 Words   |  5 Pagesassociation with his changing environment. While consistently producing work which transformed the sensibilities of those who heard it, he himself continuously allowed his own sensibilities to be fed, even transformed, by the music and music-making of others.†3 By comparing and contrasting the works of Stravinsky with not only his own works, but with his contemporarys of the early 20th century, the division and resemblances between neoclassicism and moder nism can be thoroughly observed. By examining a pieceRead MoreAre Electro-Acoustics and the Vernacular the Largets Developments in 20th Century Music?2642 Words   |  11 PagesIsolde, 1857), composers wanted to experiment with new ideas. Schoenberg was the first composer to approach composition with a completely new approach, not with typical tonality but with a ‘serial method’; this was later known as ‘12 tone’ music (all 12 tones of the chromatic scale are arranged in a fixed sequence know as a ‘tone row’, all 12 tones must be used in order for the piece to progress). Webern was soon to follow Schoenberg and became a pupil of his; he soon adopted his 12-tone method andRead MoreNon Traditional, Contemporary Musical Notation1653 Words   |  7 Pageswere experimenting with non-traditional notation. Arnold Schoenberg was one of the most influential 20th-century composers of Western â€Å"classical music.† It is less commonly known that he also invented a chromatic st aff notation system. Schoenberg said, â€Å"The need for a new notation, or a radical improvement of the old, is greater than it seems, and the number of ingenious minds that have tackled the problem is greater than one might think.† (Schoenberg) This quote is from his â€Å"A New Twelve-Tone NotationRead MoreModern Composers : John Cage1251 Words   |  6 Pagesthat John Cage had a late start to his composing career compared to composers such as Chopin, who was already a published composer by the age of eight (Michalowski and Samson 1). Through his later years, Cage developed an interest and idolized Arnold Schoenberg, the Austrian composer known for his innovations in atonality (Pritchett 1). Atonality refers to a style of music in which the piece lacks a center or focus of a key. This style plays a major role in Cage’s compositions and pieces, like for exampleRead MoreFilm Analysis :samson ( Hwv 57 )1304 Words   |  6 Pages‘Female equivalent to â€Å"Der Erlkà ¶nig.† Hugo Wolf was another nineteenth-century composer who specialized in lieder. He wrote hundreds of lieder and composed other works, including two operas. His style is linked to the Second Viennese School of Arnold Schoenberg, Alan Berg, and Anton Webern. Wolf’s lieder continually have grand moments of expressiveness. His lieder and compositions have complex harmonic motions; Verschwiegene Liebe especially is harmonically thick all while maintaining its sweetness