Arnold Schoenberg

Arnold Schoenberg

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 art of the western culture in numerous ways. Some of the most successful composers were his students. These students were molded by Schoenberg and directly absorbed his knowledge and style. Schoenberg created different rhythms and tunes that were passed along to his students and other composers. He was able to catch the attention of a multitude through his writings, music, paintings, and post cards. This variety of talent gathered a larger audience and catered to their needs. Being that Schoenberg often traveled and taught at his destination, he was well known throughout the world and influenced many.

Schoenberg taught over thousands of students within a fifty-year period including Austrian composers Anton Webern and Alban Berg (Bailey 2). Schoenberg did not view teaching as a job but rather as an inspirational motivation tool. He said: “I must confess that I was a passionate teacher, and the satisfaction of giving to beginners as much as possible of my own knowledge was probably a greater reward that the actual fee I received (Simms 1).” His passion was passed down to his students encouraging a musical revolution. The more he taught, the more lives he influenced. Students serve as a great preservation of history and culture. They take what they have learned, add their style to it, and it starts the domino effect from there. It is obvious that Schoenberg regarded teaching as more than a job but a way to influence and enhance culture. He felt that he didn’t gain from what he was taught unless he had already discovered it.

Schoenberg created a twelve-tone method and many rhythms and tunes. These creations could possibly be used in the modern music that we hear today. A pioneer is a natural influence on a culture, especially when you have students to pass it on to. In 1920, Schoenberg formulated his twelve-tone technique which can be heard in his one-movement Piano Concerto. One of the warmest and richest harmonies Schoenberg created was The Chamber Symphony No. 2 (1939) which had late Romanticism harmonies with neo-classic spirit (Schoenberg 1). Through Schoenberg and his students, the twelve-tone method became a dominating force in the mid 20th century composition and strongly influenced the course of western music. Schoenberg made a radical break in music with his un-orthodox pitch combinations and his unique rhythms. Schoenberg stated: “Whether one calls oneself conservative or revolutionary, whether one composes in a conventional or progressive manner, whether one tries to imitate old styles or is destined to express new ideas-one must be convinced of the infallibility of one’s own fantasy and one must believe in one’s own inspiration. The desire for a conscious control of the new means and forms will arise in every artist’s mind; and he will wish to follow consciously the laws and rules that govern the forms he has conceived “as in a dream (Norton 1).”

Schoenberg was not only a musician but also a writer and painter. 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 vehicles 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