Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg (September 13, 1874 – July 13, 1951) was an Austrian-born composer, music theorist, and painter, widely recognized as a pioneering figure in the development of 20th-century music. He is best known for originating the twelve-tone technique, which fundamentally transformed compositional practice and had a profound impact on modern classical music.
Early Life and Education
Born in Vienna, Schoenberg was largely self-taught as a composer, receiving only limited formal musical training. Early in his career, he was influenced by late Romantic composers such as Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner, as well as by the music of Gustav Mahler. Despite the conservative tendencies of the Viennese musical environment, Schoenberg began exploring new harmonic and structural possibilities that eventually led him to break with traditional tonality.
Expressionism and Atonality
Around 1908, Schoenberg began composing music that abandoned conventional tonal centers, moving toward atonality. This radical shift was exemplified in works such as Pierrot Lunaire (1912), a melodrama that combined spoken singing (Sprechstimme), chamber instrumentation, and expressionist aesthetics. His atonal compositions rejected the traditional harmonic hierarchy, instead emphasizing dissonance and free chromaticism to evoke psychological intensity and emotional depth.
Twelve-Tone Technique
In the early 1920s, Schoenberg developed the twelve-tone method (also known as dodecaphony), a systematic approach to composition that treats all twelve pitches of the chromatic scale as equal, avoiding any sense of a tonal center. This technique involves the creation of a tone row or series, which serves as the basis for the composition’s melodic and harmonic material through various transformations including inversion, retrograde, and transposition.
The twelve-tone system provided a new organizational principle for composers seeking alternatives to tonality and became highly influential in the mid-20th century, shaping the work of numerous composers in the Second Viennese School and beyond.
Teaching and Influence
Schoenberg was also a dedicated teacher, mentoring important composers such as Alban Berg and Anton Webern, who, alongside Schoenberg, formed the core of the Second Viennese School. His theoretical writings, including Harmonielehre (Theory of Harmony), articulated his innovative ideas and codified principles of atonal and twelve-tone composition.
Due to the political climate in Europe, Schoenberg emigrated to the United States in 1933, where he continued to compose, teach, and influence American musical life. He held teaching positions at institutions including the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Legacy
Arnold Schoenberg’s work challenged centuries of musical tradition and expanded the vocabulary and possibilities of Western art music. His pioneering efforts in atonality and serialism laid the groundwork for much of the avant-garde and contemporary music of the 20th century. Despite initial resistance and controversy, his innovations have become fundamental components of modern compositional practice.
Schoenberg’s compositions range from early tonal works and late-Romantic idioms to radical atonal and twelve-tone pieces, reflecting a broad stylistic evolution. His influence extends beyond composition to pedagogy, music theory, and even the visual arts, where he also produced notable paintings.
Selected Works
Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) (1899)
Pierrot Lunaire (1912)
Five Pieces for Orchestra (Op. 16) (1909)
String Quartet No. 2 (1908)
Suite for Piano, Op. 25 (1921–23)
Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31 (1928)
Arnold Schoenberg remains a central figure in the history of modern music, celebrated for his revolutionary approaches to harmony, form, and composition, which continue to inspire musicians and scholars worldwide.