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Arnold Franz Walter
Schoenberg

Biography and information

Arnold Schoenberg born September 13, 1874 in Vienna's Leopoldstadt quarter (former Jewish ghetto) in a Jewish family. His mother Pauline Nachod (1848-1921), a native of Prague, was a piano teacher. Father Samuel Schoenberg (1838-1889), a native of Presburg (where his father moved from Secena), was the owner of the store. Arnold was mainly a musician-self-taught, taking only counterpoint lessons with his brother-in-law Alexander von Zelinskogo (in 1901 Schoenberg married the sister of Zelinskogo Matilda).

In 1901-1903 living in Berlin, he led the composition class at the Conservatory stern[1]. In 1903 he returned to Vienna, where he worked as a teacher in one of schools of music.

Twenty years of a young man, Schoenberg earned a living by orchestrating operettas, in parallel working on his writings in the tradition of German music of the late nineteenth century, the most famous of which was the string sextet "Transfigured night", op. 4 (1899).

The same traditions he developed in the poem "pelléas and mélisande" (1902-1903), the cantata "Song Hurra" (1900-1911), "First string Quartet" (1905). The name of Schoenberg begins to win popularity. It is recognized by such distinguished musicians as Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss. Since 1904 he begins private teaching harmony, counterpoint and composition. An important next step in the music of Schoenberg was his "First chamber Symphony" (1906).

In the summer of 1908, Schoenberg's wife Mathilde left him, falling in love with artist Richard Gerstl. A few months later, when she returned to her husband and children, Gerstl committed suicide. This period coincided for Schoenberg's revision of his musical aesthetics and radical change of style. He created the first atonal compositions, the song "You leaned against a silver-willow" ("lehnest Du dich wieder zu einen Weinenbaum an") and, most revolutionary of his early works — "Second string Quartet", Op. 10 (1907-1908), where the final adds voice, soprano, putting to music the poems of Stefan George. In "Five pieces for orchestra" op.16 (1909) first applies his new invention — a method of tone-painted melodies (Klangfarbenmelodie).

In the summer of 1910, Schoenberg wrote his first major theoretical work, "the Doctrine of the harmony" ("Harmonielehre"). Then it creates a vocal-instrumental cycle "Pierrot Lunaire" ("Pierrot Lunaire"), op. 21 (1912) poems by albert Giraud, using the technique of Sprechstimme vocal of recitatio, the average between reading and singing. In 1910-ies, his music was popular in Berlin in the environment expressionists, she sang in the meetings of the literary "New club".

In the early 1920's, he invents a new "method of composition with 12 correlated between tones", commonly known as "dodecaphony", first trying it in my "Serenade" op. 24 (1920-1923). This method proved to be the most influential for European and American classical music of the twentieth century.

Until 1925 Schoenberg lived mostly in Vienna. In 1925 he became Professor of composition in Berlin at the Prussian Academy of arts[2].

In 1933, after coming to power of the Nazis, Schoenberg emigrated to the United States, where he taught first at the Malkin Conservatory in Boston, from 1935 — at the University of southern California, 1936 at the University of California Los Angeles[2].

One of the most significant achievements of schönberg became his unfinished Opera on the biblical story "Moses and Aaron" began in the early 1930-ies. The whole music of the Opera is based on one 12-sonorous series. The main party of Moses performed by the reader in the manner of Sprechgesang, the role of Aaron entrusted to the tenor.


Schoenberg's grave in the Central cemetery of Vienna
Throughout his life, Schoenberg was active in teaching and has trained a whole galaxy of composers. The most outstanding of them Anton Webern, Alban Berg, Ernst Krenek, Hans Eisler, Roberto Gerhard. Schoenberg created and led a whole school of composers known as the "new Vienna school". Hauer his early works were written under the influence of the atonal music of Schoenberg. In 1935, in California, it becomes the private student John cage.

Along with teaching, composing, organizing concerts and performances as conductor Schoenberg was also the author of numerous books, textbooks, theoretical studies and articles. Among other things he painted pictures of outstanding originality.

Died July 13, 1951 in California. He was buried at the Central cemetery of Vienna.

In honor of Schoenberg named a crater on mercury. Pictured on an Austrian postage stamp in 1974.