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Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)

Arnold Schoenberg composerArnold Schoenberg is the well-known inventor of the 12-tone system. He was, amazingly, a self-taught musician, whose Harmonienlehre ("Theory of Harmony") is still studied for the breadth of its understanding of the deepest meaning of structure in music. For all its theoretical underpinning, Schoenberg's music is most often dramatic in a romantic way, at the same time leaping to the horizons of pitch in its melodies and, through fragmentation and "Klangfarbenmelodie" (sound-color-melody), creating an angular, "modern" sound in its rhythm and unique orchestration. Schoenberg's earlier works are more romantic and are all are conceived on the sweeping scale of interior hyper-emotion. The Chamber Symphony of 1906 combines this style with the angular style that would appear in Schoenberg's violin and piano concertos of the 30s. The first of Schoenberg's works in which tonality is completely absent is The Book of the Hanging Gardens (1907). Following this came the brilliant Five Pieces for Orchestra, op. 16 (1909), with its entirely new approach to orchestration; the Piano Music, opp. 11 & 19; and Pierrot Lunaire; all of which completely changed the sound of symphonic, chamber, and piano music.                                                    -  Blue Gene Tyranny, All Music Guide


COMPOSITIONS                                                                                                    Schoenberg Links     ~ ~ ~     Works by Genre
Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night), op. 4, string sextet (Dec 1899)
Gurre-Lieder, soloists, choruses and orchestra (Mar 1900- Mar 1901; orchestrated 1901-03, 1910-11)
 Pelleas und Melisanade, op. 5, orchestra (July 1902- Feb 1903)
Six Orchestral Songs, op. 8 (Dec 1903- Mar 1904)
Eight Songs, op. 6 (Dec 1903- Oct 1905)
String Quartet No. 1, op. 7, d (1904- Sept 1905)
Chamber Symphony No. 1, op. 9, 15 instruments (July 1906; full orch Nov 1922; rev. Apr 1935)
Friede auf Erden, op. 13, chorus (Feb-Mar 1907)
Two Ballads, op. 12 (Mar-Apr 1907)
Two Songs, op. 14 (Dec 1907, Feb 1908)
String Quartet No. 2, op. 10, str qt, with soprano in mvts 3 & 4 (Mar 1907- Aug 1908)
Book of the Hanging Gardens, op. 15 (Mar 1908-Mar 1909)
Three Piano Pieces, op. 11 (Feb, Aug 1909)
Five Pieces for Orchestra, op. 16 (May-Aug 1909, rev. Sept 1949)
Erwartung, op. 17, monodrama (Aug-Sept 1909)
Six Little Piano Pieces, op. 19 (Feb, June 1911)
Herzgewachse (Foliage of the Heart), op. 20, soprano, celeste, harp, harmonium (Dec 1911)
Pierrot Lunaire, op. 21, speaker and chamber ensemble (Apr-May 1912)
Gurre-Lieder, soloists, choruses and orchestra (Mar 1900- Mar 1901; orchestrated 1901-03, 1910-11)
Die gluckliche Hand, op. 18, drama with music (1910-13)
Four Songs, op. 22, voice and orchestra (Oct 1913- July 1916)
Five Piano Pieces, op. 23 (July 1920, Feb 1923)
Suite, piano, op. 25 (July 1921, Mar 1923)
Serenade, op. 24, chamber ensemble with baritone in mvt 4 (Aug 1920- Apr 1923)
Quintet for Winds, op. 26 (Apr 1923- Aug 1924)
Four Pieces, op. 27, chorus (Sept-Nov 1925)
Three Satires, op. 28, chorus (Nov-Dec 1925)
Suite, Eb, op. 29, chamber ensemble (Jan 1925- May 1926)
String Quartet No. 3, op. 30 (Jan-Mar 1927)
Variations for Orchestra, op. 31 (May 1926- Aug 1928)
Von Heute auf Morgen, op. 32, opera (Oct 1928-Jan 1929)
Piano Piece, op. 33a (Dec 1928- Apr 1929)
Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielszene (Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene), op. 34 (Oct 1929- Feb 1930)
Six Pieces, op. 35, male chorus (Apr 1929- Mar 1930)
Piano Piece, op. 33b (Oct 1931)
Moses und Aaron, opera (May 1930-Mar 1932)
[Cello Concerto, after Monn (Nov 1932- Jan 1933)]
Three Songs, op. 48 (Jan-Feb 1933)
[Concerto, str qt, orchestra, after Handel: Concerto grosso, op. 6, no. 7 (May-Aug 1933)]
Suite in G, strings (Sept-Dec 1934)
Violin Concerto, op. 36 (1935- Sept 1936)
String Quartet No. 4, op. 37 (Apr-July 1937)
Kol Nidrei, op. 39, speaker, chorus and orchestra (Aug-Sept 1938)
Chamber Symphony No. 2, op. 38 (Aug 1906- Dec 1916, Aug-Oct 1939)
Variations on a Recitative, op. 40, organ (Aug-Oct 1941)
Ode to Napoleon, op. 41, reciter, pf, str qt/orch (Mar- June 1942)
Piano Concerto, op. 42 (July-Dec 1942)
Theme and Variations, op. 43a, band/orchestra (op. 43b) (July 1943)
Prelude “Genesis”, op. 44, SATB and orchestra (Sept 1945)
String Trio, op. 45 (Aug-Sept 1946)
A Survivor from Warsaw, op. 46, narrator, male chorus and orchestra (Aug 1947)
Three folksongs, op. 49, chorus (June 1948)
Phantasy, violin and piano, op. 47 (Mar 1949)
Dreimal tausend Jahre, op. 50a, chorus 9Apr 1949)
De profundis, op. 50b, chorus (June-July 1950)


WORKS BY GENRE                                                                                                 Schoenberg Links   ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater

Orchestral

Band

Soloist(s) w/Orchestra

Chorus w/Orchestra

Choral

Chamber

Solo Instrument

Piano

Vocal

Incidental/Film

Electronic

SCHOENBERG  LINKS                                                                                          Works by Genre   ~ top of page ~
Arnold Schoenberg Center
New Music, Outmoded Music, Style and Idea (essay by Schoenberg)
Schoenberg Discography, with Works List, Chronology, Bibliography, etc. (website by Wayne Shoaf)
Schoenberg's Family Battles USC for Collection
Schoenberg's Harmonielehre: Modernism Through Tradition
Schoenberg Links (compiled by Schoenberg's grandson Randol)
Arnold Schoenberg's Paintings and Drawings
Arnold Schoenberg: Three Piano Pieces, op. 11 - The Significance of op. 11 (Associated Colleges of the South)
Schoenberg at UCLA: Reminiscences from Leonard Stein (an interview by Maiko Kawabata)
Schoenberg the Romantic (Duncan Vinson)
Will the Real Arnold Schoenberg Please Stand Up (Daniel Felsenfeld, Andante.com)
Why We're Still Afraid of Schoenberg (Norman Lebrecht, La Scena Musicale)
Arnold Schoenberg's Second String Quartet - The Day Music Went Mad (Norman Lebrecht, La Scena Musicale)
Blue Gaze: Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire (Steve Hicken, The High Hat)
Whistling in the Dark: Schoenberg's Unfinished Revolution (Alex Ross, The New Yorker)

Schoenberg @ Wikipedia
Schoenberg @ 20th Century Arts and Humanities (Dr. Michael Delahoyde, Washington State University)
Schoenberg @ Chester Novello
Schoenberg @ Classical Cat
Schoenberg @ Classical Music Pages
Schoenberg @ fUSION Anomaly
Schoenberg @ Great Performances
Schoenberg @ Karadar Classical Music
Schoenberg @ The New York Times
Schoenberg @ W.W. Norton
Schoenberg @ Piano Society
Schoenberg @ G. Schirmer
Schoenberg @ Schott Music
Schoenberg @ The Timid Soul's Guide to Classical Music
Schoenberg @ The Washington Post

Streaming Audio
Schoenberg @ The Classical MIDI Connection
Schoenberg @ Classical Music Archives
Schoenberg @ Connexions: Listening Gallery
Schoenberg @ last.fm
Schoenberg @ Music in the Air
Schoenberg @ Rhapsody

Schoenberg @ YouTube

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