Book Description
One of the most influential collections of music ever published, Style and Idea includes Schoenberg's writings about himself and his music as well as studies of many other composers and reflections on art and society.
Customer Reviews:
The Work of a Genius.......2007-03-19
Arnold Schoenberg is one of the most brilliant minds of the twentieth century, not just in the field of music. This is not only an excellent reference of some of his seminal writings, but it's also a great read for anyone who would like a better understanding of the musical landscape of the early 20th century through the eyes of a genius. His scholarship is just as beneficial to us as his compositions.
one-of-a-kind.......2006-01-08
This book is nothing short of an institution in attidude,insight and understanding toward art.
Shoenberg was an amazing teacher,artist and musician. That book is definitely a keeper,and I have bought A LOT of textbooks about harmony,counterpoint,you name it.
But that one is really unique. It's like he's there sitting in front of you and REALLY dwelling into the profoundest thoughts about music,art,life.
His thoughts,ideas,reasonings,are always very,very insightful. Like no-one else.
He is always talking very seriously,but ,like a real master,what he talks about is always full of content and meaning. Always personal yet impersonal,and very ,very intelligent (the word 'very intelligent' hardly does him justice,really .).
At times his focused sarcasm makes me laugh too,I love his clear and truly remarkable reasoning.
For the ones that would not buy this book ONLY because they do not like his music,it is a prejudice that will prevent them to discover the causes of ignorance and will also miss the opportunity to achieve clarity onto subjects that very few,if any,would confront in the way that Arnold Shoenberg does.
Amazing and beautiful.
Customer Reviews:
An artful course in harmony.......2006-01-24
I have read most reviews below...and I find most of them incomprehensible. Someone compares Shoenberg's Treatise to the Treatise by Rameau,for example. A rather irrelevant comparison,because both books have their area of undeniable expertise. How do you compare a book about building a Ferrari and one about building an aeroplane? They both talk about aerodynamics,but there are differencies,I think!
Then there is the person that finds the book very hard to grasp. Well,I doubt this is Mr. Shoenberg's fault!
This is a books about CLASSICAL harmony! It seems that nowadays people playing popular pop or doing songwriting or jazz-rock fusion guitarists (nothing wrong with any of this ) think,for some strange reason, that Shoenberg's book is actually a whatever course of harmony and because he was so open-minded and wide ranging,that actually anyone after learning a Beatles song just starts on Shoenberg? Or that in the book the technique of 'atonality' is taught ?
No,no....there is some very real confusion here. Not many people know that Shoenberg practiced and learned the traditional techniques in an amazingly diligent and through way for years....incredibly hard work. On his own! The 'serialism' part it's entirely his own quirk and style,and it is not the main point in this book...it's only people that see it this way. It is basicly an assumption.
So basicly,if you want to fly,learn to run properly on your own ground first. That is the philosophy,and this is exactly what he does in the book: he starts and progress VERY logically. Some people may be puzzled ,but again,if you dont understand,well,read it 'till you do. Do not forget that Shoenberg had unsurpassed experience in teaching ,and that he started teaching in universisites WITHOUT the help of titles or master degree's but ONLY because of his SKILL.
And that has to be kept in mind too,so,if they appear ramblings,I am sorry,it's only laziness on the part of the student. Sure it's not easy to keep pace,but if you do,you will be rewarded.
If anyone actually STUDIED seriously even part of the book,he would realize that ,in fact,this is exactly what Shoenberg says:
''I bolt the door against the bravado which would like to burst in absolute disregard for the rules. I bolt the door by developing his sense of form,according to the rigorous old rules.''
The people that say that 'it's not a textbook' ,dont know what they are talking about. This is a course in harmony prepared by a real artist,a real composer,not by an historian,not by a teacher in a university,master's degree or otherwise. You make out of this whatever you want. Of course I am not saying that the other people are bad ,or good. I am only saying that this book was written by a real composer,not by a theorist. He just happened to study most major harmony texts and compose in his mind for 14 instruments while going for morning walks!
People who think of his book as having a place as a theorist treatise did not really know the book in question.This book was written for people that want to learn about harmony. Very simply. But not to the extent that a guitarists may really study it on guitar! Otherwise,as some reviewer mentioned ,it will not be understood why Shoenberg calls a first inversion chord a 'sixth' chord. This is classical method,Rameau for example calls it the same way. It is simple: because the bass ,being in first inversion,forms a sixth with the root above it.
It cannot be studied by a guitarist if that guitarist does not know the difference between a root and a bass note. In popular music it's just the bass,but not in classical.
I am about halfway the book,and no,I did not read it,I am STUDYING it.That is an ENORMOUS difference. Some people said that they read it...or worse,studied 'a couple of chapters,and then read the rest'. I STRONGLY doubt that you will get much from that book in this way. That is just superficiality and laziness,let's be very clear about this. Again,this is hardly Mr. Shoenberg' fault.You will better off by not even starting on it.
To me he is a unique teacher ,musician and artist. I am learning A LOT from his book,and I am grateful he took so much time and patience to write it down. I really like his book,even going so far as being very honoured that I actually study a book written by such an intelligent artist ,musician and teacher. Someone mentioned that he calls the student of the book 'pupil' as if it's a strange,unnecessary thing....I fail to understand why,I would not really be interested in knowing why either,since the book is a complete course in harmony,if not ,infact, a much better one than even the university one. I feel honoured that he calls the person that decides to study the book, 'pupil',and I only hope I will work even much harder than I do.
It's no-one business if Shoenberg viewed harmony in his own way,he does not have to excuse himself for lack of superficiality or laziness or personal idea.
If you want the book that teaches you modulation in a couple of ways only,then, by all means 'Theory Of Harmony' was definitely not written for you. By all means buy another book.
But ,if you want to became an EXPERT about modulation,then start eating it! It's up to you. Shoenberg it's not making it simplistic for you. But it does not ,ever ,makes it difficult or superficial.
You do not care about the roman empire,fine,but just so you know,Shoenberg was a very cultured person,and he really cared about self-education,musical independence and independence of thought. He knew people like Strauss,Mahler,Brahms,Goethe. He had amazing musical and pedagogy skills. He was a famous and controversial composer from Vienna,and,quite frankly,I doubt that anybody here has even a right about saying what's best or not about him,and I refer even to master's degrees owners here,simply because you cannot be taught such independence in in any school;as Bruce Lee said 'All real knowledge it's ultimately SELF knowledge'. You will not be taught that in any music course,Shoenberg is a real master because his wish in his books is not to create students or historians or theorists,his hope instead is to create creators.
Someone here even said that 'it's not a textbook' ; 'it's a supplement'. I do not think those people understood much about the book. Those are just pretentious assumptions of people who just box the book into a narrow category,and the job's done.
It's funny,but I do not find Shoenberg's book difficult. I have bought it because I wanted to teach myself CLASSICAL harmony. And believe it or not, I learn more from it than going to a music college. Yes,I say that without any doubts because I actually went to a college ,and as I was studying BOTH the book and at the college,I found I was really MUCH better off with the book.
I must say that at the very beginning,I too did think the book was hard and complex and had 'too much philosophy' in it,although I did think highly of it from the start,and never actually went as far as defining Shoenberg's thoughts 'ramblings'...it may appear so only to superficial and green attidudes. Someone with a penchant for doing things quickly rather than throughly,maybe?
There are other misundertandings,I think,about the book,for example the fact that most people do not really know that this book is about TRADITIONAL harmony ,not a manual that makes of a total ignoramus a 'serialist' in a couple of months.
It's your choice...but one last thing I will say; I have seen concepts such as modulation and many other treated with such amazing detail ONLY in this books. I have bought many others,including Rameau,C.p.e Bach,Piston,Kitson,Lovelock and others,but I will stay with this one because it teaches in such detailed way.
I recommend it highly,very highly,but only to people that really want to create ,not to historians or 'theorists'. I respect all of them ,but to me Shoenberg is no mere historian.
So,if you have courage and true dedication,buy this amazing book and go slowly,but actually start it and make sure you keep going. I think it is amazing just as the other books by the same Shoenberg....they are all keepers as far as I am concerned.
Very interesting and important treatise by a very important composer - NOT a textbook.......2005-11-15
From where we stand in history, it is not possible to grasp how important and how influential Arnold Schoenberg was during the first seventy years of the twentieth century. The post war generation of academic composers were almost all spiritual and technical disciples of Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern. He is most remembered for his 12 tone method of composition, which too many people associate with atonality. It is not chaotic music and can have tonal gestures, even if it studiously avoids actual tonal methods. What is not often remembered are his lush and highly chromatic but very tonal compositions that he wrote prior to his development of his serial compositional techniques. He was a master of late Romantic chromaticism (late - late - late Romatic).
This book is not a text for teaching theory, although he meant it to be used for study by students. It is more of a philosophical treatise. There are no examples from the literature, but many musical abstractions by Schoenberg to provide schematics of his views. There are also no assignments or exercises (although he provides these in another book). However, this is an important work by a titan of 20th century music.
Somewhat dissapointing.......2005-08-06
I am not particularly fond of this book. If you're interested in reading Schonberg's view on the pedagogical aspects of music, then you'll love this book. I, however, did not find it that appealing. It is a very philosophical, thought-provoking book; but, it is NOT your typical music theory book. There is a good bit of information, but it is often presented in a very cumbersome manner, and difficult to understand. This is partly due to Schonberg's aptness to go on philosophical tirades after intoducing every new concept.
A Masterpiece for every musician.......2004-05-31
This book is a must for a musician.
It is not a textbook. You need another standard one for this purpose. But it is essential as a companion, if you want to UNDERSTAND the reasons behind the rules. And you better read it in parallel with a standard textbook.
Schoenberg starts from the most ancient sources to the most modern and EXPLAINS everything! You are his pupil because this book was written for his real pupils. (And btw a 6th chord is a 6th chord for every classical harmony manual...).
I agree that sometimes some digressions may be questionable and some "rules" are introduced and then eliminated in a questionable way, but he is undoubtely an artist, and this book reflects it. The way he explains, for instance, the minor mode is unsurpassed.
You can't break harmony rules if you don't know what's behind them.
AMM
An Historical Study in Pedagogical Verbosity.......2003-09-12
This book is a virtual time machine. It takes the reader back to early twentieth century Vienna, a fertile time and place of cultural development. Schoenberg addresses the reader as the "pupil," and holds forth at great length on all manner of digressions and tangential topics. His style is dense, complex, pedagogical, and further obscured by having been translated from German. For the music student of today, this can be exasperating. It takes Schoenberg an entire page to introduce the idea that a chord tone other than the root can occur in the bass. He then goes on to refer to the first inversion of the major triad as the "sixth chord" throughout the book, presumably because the root appears a minor sixth above the third? This is at odds with our present-day notion of a sixth chord. At one point, by way of analogy, Schoenberg digresses at length as to what caused the downfall of the Roman Empire. Does the student of harmony really need this?
Schoenberg's Theory of Harmony is an interesting book from an historical perspective, for the reader willing to slog through page-long paragraphs. It stands alongside the works of contemporaries such as Sigmund Freud. As a student of harmony, for whom this book was written in a distant time and place, I find it tedious.
Two stars, in deference to Schoenberg's work as a composer.
Customer Reviews:
I think Schoenberg might be part Vulcan..........2006-03-18
I don't particularly like Schoenberg's music, but I think he does quite well in this book, which primarily covers musical form ranging from the tiniest motif to the complete sonata. He goes into detail about how each part of a piece is structured from ever smaller elements down to the phrase and the motifs within it. Over all, it really does cover the fundamentals of musical composition well.
The book covers a number of common musical forms in classical music, including minuets, scherzos, theme-and-variation, and the sonata-allegro form. I was somewhat dissappointed to see that important forms like the concerto and the tone poem were not covered, and it should be noted that Schoenberg focuses mainly on form in this book rather than harmony.
However, the approach presented in the book strikes me as somewhat contrived and mechanical and I find it hard to believe that Beethoven thought to himself "hmm, maybe I should invert the motif in measure 2 and repeat it at a different interval in measure 3". Other than that, though, it is mostly quite useful, though certainly not light reading.
Designed as a text for student composers wanting to learn the basics of musical form.......2005-11-15
Schoenberg worked on this text as part of his work with students at UCLA. He worked on it until his death in 1951 and had revised it several times. It is meant for students of composition rather than general music students studying form. The terminology is often Schoenberg's own and he, of course, has many interesting and strongly held views and approaches. It is not a text on twelve-tone composition, but of traditional and classic forms.
It was written in English rather than Shoenberg's native German, but he had the help of this volume's editor, Gerald Strang. In this edition, many of Schoenberg's specially composed examples were replaced by examples from the literature and the proprietary examples moved to the volume "Structural Functions of Harmony". This is meant to serve as a very fundamental discussion of these matters for students who are thinking about becoming composers.
One of the best works on musical forms.......2000-08-06
Arnold Schoemberg clearly demonstrates, through examples taken from baroque, classical and romantical pieces, the stuctural aspect of music; its small units, such as subjects, themes and phrases are explained in rich detail; the musical forms, like the minuet, rondo and sonata are also shown in full detail, allowing every music student to make contact with basic and advanced composition techniques. However, this is not for begginers, since advanced theory and harmony is required for full understanding. Like Schoemberg's "Theory of Harmony", this book doesn't contain material on twelve-tone composition and its specific forms, unfortunately.
Excellent introductory material about musical form........1997-02-15
This is an excellent book for musicians interested in dabbling in composition. It defines the basic terminology frequently used in composition and discusses the common forms: scherzo, theme and variations, rondo, and sonata-allegro. One of the most important things about this book is probably that it does not focus upon the theoretical aspect of music at all. Experience in harmonic structure is not necessary to read this book, although ability to read music is. Most examples are excerpts from common pre-20th century composers such as Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, etc.
This book is an essential to any musician's library. Even performers can benefit by understanding the forms common in standard repertoire. However, for someone specifically looking for information about harmonic theory, this book provides very little useful information.
Book Description
Inspired by a poem of Richard Dehmel, the 1899 work Verklärte Nacht, is a tone poem for string sextet composed in the late-Romantic tradition. Pierrot Lunaire, composed in 1912, is a musical setting for speaker and chamber ensemble of 21 poems by Albert Giraud, incorporating Schoenberg's revolutionary theory of atonality and singing-speech delivery called "Sprechstimme."
Customer Reviews:
Dover strikes again.......2000-03-10
As always, Dover has produced a clean, relatively easy to read score of one of music literature's masterpieces. The English translations are good, and the layout is quite readable. As a study score, or perhaps for use in performance, this edition is highly recommeded.
Average customer rating:
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Coherence, Counterpoint, Instrumentation, Instruction in Form (Zusammenhang, Kontrapunkt, Instrumentation, Formenlehre)
Arnold Schoenberg
Manufacturer: University of Nebraska Press
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ASIN: 0803242301 |
Book Description
Only Stravinsky can claim as much credit as Schoenberg for the most dramatic innovations in twentieth-century music. Inventor of the twelve-tone row, explorer of atonality and the hexachord, composer of tone poems, songs, and chamber music, and chief spokesman for the Vienna Circle, Schoenberg has become ever more influential as his successors have come to understand him.
Fuller understanding has been delayed because many of his writings have not yet been edited or published. This volume collects four short works, each concentrated on a key issue in composition. Written in 1917, but altered and augmented many times in later years, the manuscripts edited and translated in this volume have never been published before.
Their importance can permit no further delay since they present Schoenberg's thinking well after the publication in 1911 of Harmonielehre, his revolutionary theoretical book. The later texts provide numerous prospects for enhancing the study and appreciation of Schoenberg's compositions and theories.
Also a painter, Schoenberg enjoyed the friendship of Kandinsky and the Berlin expressionists. This volume includes a frontispiece reproducing one of Schoenberg's paintings.
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- Come out in paperback, .....!
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The Atonal Music of Arnold Schoenberg, 1908-1923
Bryan R. Simms
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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The Early Works of Arnold Schoenberg, 1893-1908
ASIN: 0195128265 |
Book Description
Between 1908 and 1923, Arnold Schoenberg began writing music that went against many of the accepted concepts and practices of this art. Largely following his intuition during these years, he composed some of the masterpieces of the modern repertoire--including Pierrot lunaire and Erwartung--works that have since provoked a large, though fragmented, body of critical and analytical writing. In this book, Bryan Simms combines a historical study with a close analytical reading of the music to give us a new and richer understanding of Schoenberg's seminal work during this period.
Customer Reviews:
Come out in paperback, .....!.......2004-02-03
Certainly the most serious, scholarly, and musicological study of Schoenberg's early, atonal work. For those interested in less of an introduction and more in depth analysis, this book is the key for its subject area. Lucidly written, the ideal first step beyond so many biographical-introductions to this great composer.
Average customer rating:
- a useful hanbook to one of the milestones of 20th century music
- A short, satisfying read!
- excellent mix of bio and musicology
- Best starting and ending point for Schoenberg
- Best starting and ending point for Schoenberg
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Arnold Schoenberg
Charles Rosen
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
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ASIN: 0226726436 |
Book Description
In this lucid, revealing book, award-winning pianist and scholar Charles Rosen sheds light on the elusive music of Arnold Schoenberg and his challenge to conventional musical forms. Rosen argues that Schoenberg's music, with its atonality and dissonance, possesses a rare balance of form and emotion, making it, according to Rosen, "the most expressive music ever written." Concise and accessible, this book will appeal to fans, non-fans, and scholars of Schoenberg, and to those who have yet to be introduced to the works of one of the greatest composers of the twentieth century.
"Arnold Schoenberg is one of the most brilliant monographs ever to be published on any composer, let alone the most difficult master of the present age. . . . Indispensable to anyone seeking to understand the crucial musical ideas of the first three decades."—Robert Craft, New York Review of Books
"What Mr. Rosen does far better than one could reasonably expect in so concise a book is not only elucidate Schoenberg's composing techniques and artistic philosophy but to place them in history."—Donal Henahan, New York Times Book Review
"For the novice and the knowledgeable, Mr. Rosen's book is very important reading, either as an introduction to the master or as a stimulus to rethinking our opinions of him. Mr. Rosen's accomplishment is enviable."—Joel Sachs, Musical Quarterly
Customer Reviews:
a useful hanbook to one of the milestones of 20th century music.......2006-07-01
Sometimes it's the simplest of observations which make the most long lasting impression.I've always been struck by Rosen's assertion that in 'pierrot lunaire' (or any number of his pieces)it wouldn't make make a huge amount of difference if the instrumental parts were transposed in such a way that the vertical relationships would be altered.Rosen notes that it would be more detrimental if the dynamic markings were altered, affecting the delicate interplay of textures.
A short, satisfying read!.......2006-03-24
Every book I've ever read by Charles Rosen and has deeply affected my view of the topic, and this little book is no exception. There isn't much biography in this book, it is strictly music criticism, focusing on the 'victory' of Schoenberg as well as his two students Webern and Berg.
This book went a long way in helping me to understand the aesthetics of serialism. I don't think a nonmusician would find much use in it, but I think anyone who is a musician at all and has experienced Schoenberg's music will be able to get a lot out of it.
excellent mix of bio and musicology.......2005-10-04
seeing that this is such a small book (barely 100 pages of text), i was surprised at the depth of this book. as one reviewer wrote, it does not get into specifics about his life ('journeys' by allen shawn is good for that), but it gets into enough. i was especially pleased with the musical analysis of schoenberg's music that was presented here, which those who understand music can appreciate; such is left out of many musical biographies that i have read, and that is why i appreciate it here. it does lend a tremendous assistance in understanding his music, and his working philosophy. (that said, though, it might mean that this isnt the book for you if you dont want to get into theory; again, shawn's book is an excellent alternative then.)in fact, after reading this, i started to read schoenberg's writings on music theory, which ifound enlightening.
Best starting and ending point for Schoenberg.......2000-08-14
Robert Craft was on the money in his description of this monograph as "one of the most brilliant ever to be published on any composer, let alone the most difficult master of the present age." Stripping away any unnecessary biographical details, Mr. Rosen gives a surprisingly deep and insightful chronicle (for so short a book) of both the music of Schoenberg and that of his contemporaries. Whatever path serialism was to follow after Schoenberg, his own personal reasons for creating it are elucidated here more clearly and with greater historical insight than anywhere else that I am aware of. It has been popular of late to denigrate Serialism, implicating Schoenberg in some of the excesses of his followers. This has always seemed to stem from some fundamental misunderstandings about just what it was Schoenberg was setting out to do when he created his twelve-tone system. This work should be mandatory reading for those revanchist musicians and neo-tonalists who practice a sort of musical revisionism in their assessments of Schoenberg's work--indeed, for anyone who is interested in gaining insight into a composer of unquestionable genius.
Best starting and ending point for Schoenberg.......2000-08-14
Robert Craft was on the money in his description of this monograph as "one of the most brilliant ever to be published on any composer, let alone the most difficult master of the present age." Stripping away any unnecessary biographical details, Mr. Rosen gives a surprisingly deep and insightful chronicle (for so short a book) of both the music of Schoenberg and that of his contemporaries. Whatever path serialism was to follow after Schoenberg, his own personal reasons for creating it are elucidated here more clearly and with greater historical insight than anywhere else that I am aware of. It has been popular of late to denigrate Serialism, implicating Schoenberg in some of the excesses of his followers. This has always seemed to stem from some fundamental misunderstandings about just what it was Schoenberg was setting out to do when he created his twelve-tone system. This work should be mandatory reading for those revanchist musicians and neo-tonalists who practice a sort of musical revisionism in their assessments of Schoenberg's work--indeed, for anyone who is interested in gaining insight into a composer of unquestionable genius.
Book Description
Proposing that Arnold Schoenberg has been more discussed than heard, more tolerated than loved, Allen Shawn puts aside ultimate judgments about Schoenberg's place in music history to explore the composer's fascinating world in a series of linked essays--"soundings"--that are both searching and wonderfully suggestive. Approaching Schoenberg primarily from the listener's point of view, Shawn plunges into the details of some of Schoenberg's works while at the same time providing a broad overview of his involvements in music, painting, and the history through which he lived.
Customer Reviews:
i like this book.......2006-07-01
This marvellous book evoked the sense of excitement/bemusement at encountering Schoenberg's music for the first time but also prompted me to investigate works which in the past i'd not given sufficent attention.
Here's a few scattered quotes of what he has to say about 'Die Gluckliche Hand':
'that the representation of the unattainable is embodied in music that is itself dense and tangled is no accident.Although it is beautifully imagined and so headlong in its progress that it seems shorter than it is......yet it is precise in its intricacy,and the orchestration is lush and full of colour' pg.158
The moments of analyis are always free of technical jargon and i like the attention given to Schoenberg's painting as a means of illumination.Altogether a compelling read and well illustrated.
The possible drawbacks are minor:
for my liking,there are too many references to Robert Craft, and i don't understand what Shawn means when he describes Wagner as being earthbound in comparison with early Schoenberg(the prelude to Parsifal being one of the most weightless pieces of music i know).Also,i have a special affection for that most ravishing of choral works 'Friede auf Erden' op.13 so was sad to find no reference to this little gem.
But please,go out and buy this book.It's got just the right tone of voice.Supplement with Rosen's more dense but equally thoughtful book.
An attempt at a more "superficial treatment" of Schoenberg..........2005-08-06
Schoenberg's music gets treated at times like no more than a necessary intellectual evil: "Ok! Ok! Tonal centers aren't the only musical expressive form! We get it! Now can we please get back to beautiful life-affirming melodies and harmonies?!?!" The music often gets treated from only a theoretical viewpoint, and many people read about Schoenberg, or worse, read opinions about his music, before really experiencing the music itself. In this sense the music doesn't get a chance to live and breathe on its own without an angorra-thick layer of theory and sometimes obscure and opaque musicology heaped over it. The author of this book states this idea very eloquently in the introduction: "...it is not entirely in a spirit of facetiousness that I have said to friends that I feel perhaps Schoenberg's work deserves a more superficial treatment than it has hitherto received." This theme runs throughout the book, and the reader actually has a chance to get to know Schoenberg's biography and how that biography potentially related to his music without being subjected to stifling theory.
The book as a whole is made up of short chapters some of which contain mostly biography and others of which contain mostly descriptions and reflections on some of Schoenberg's major works (there are chapters completely dedicated to the following works: Verklärte Nacht, Gurre-Lieder, Brettl-Lieder (from Schoenberg's suprising tenure with Berlin cabarets in 1901-1902), Five Pieces For Orchestra, Erwartung, Pierrot Lunaire, Die glückliche Hand, Moses Und Aron, and the String Trio). This book doesn't just cover his music, though. One chapter gets devoted to his very literary treatise on harmony, "Harmonielehre". Another chapter discusses Schoenberg's paintings (some of which Gustave Mahler purchased to help support his financially struggling colleague). Two interesting later chapters deal with his propensity to create games and practical inventions, and even a reflection on being short (a trait that the author confesses to share; Schoenberg himself was under 5'4" which ranks him heightwise beneath Napolean).
Some of the most fascinating biographical episodes involve the audience and critical reactions to Schoenberg's works (at a performance of Pierrot Lunaire an audience member supposedly pointed at Schoenberg and yelled "Shoot him! Shoot him!" other concerts prompted his friends to shield him from projectiles thrown by the audience, or to evacuate him from the theater, and many performances were literally shouted down - the vocalist at the premiere of his Second String Quartet apparently left the stage in tears). An entire chapter also gets dedicated to Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique (often derogatorily subsumed as "overly intellectualist"); a technique he followed in his later works (most notably in "Music for a Film Scene", Op. 34, and the famous Piano Concerto, Op. 42).
Schoenberg also lived through major world events: World War I (in which he took a part) and World War II (which forced him to flee Germany and Austria in the rising tide of 1930s Anti-Semitism; "Ode To Napolean Bonaparte", Op. 41, stands as Schoenberg's musical lashing out at Hitler's tyranny). He also tried to help Jews in europe during Hitler's rise; he took anti-semitism as a given (one could arguably make the depressingly bizarre claim that anti-semitism was almost "fashionable" in the early part of the twentieth-century) and advocated a Jewish homeland.
Schoenberg's skills as a teacher (his most reliable source of income throughout his life) receives notice here, too. His pedogogical style apparently didn't encourage devoteeism. Some of his most famous students included Alban Berg, Anton Webern, and John Cage. All followed their own distinct directions following Schoenberg's instruction.
This book brings Schoenberg to life for those who know little about him. Those who have not heard any of Schoenberg's music should seek it out before reading this book. After all, the message of this book relates to finding meaning through active listening to, not intellectualizing about, the music of Schoenberg. Some passages might get a little thick for those with no musical background. And some contain actual musical notation. Nonetheless, a music theory background is not required to read or even to enjoy this book (though admittedly it would be helpful). The book overall opens up the expressive possibilities of Schoenberg's music to those whose spines curl at the mere mention of his name.
a wonderful, sympathetic view.......2002-12-10
Allen Shawn's book is clearly a labor of love. This is remarkable, given that Schoenberg is notoriously difficult to love! I strongly recommend the book to anyone interested in one of the most influential composers of all time. Shawn is a composer, and presents careful treatments of several major compositions, complete with excerpts from the scores. He includes some fascinating biographical information, but the focus is the music. Schoenberg pioneered "atonal" music in the years right around 1910 parallel to Kandinsky's pioneering abstract painting, and in fact the two were friends and collaborators. Here is an amazing quote from Schoenberg:
"It has never been the purpose and effect of new art to suppress the old, its predecessor, certainly not to destroy it. ... The appearance of the new can far better be compared with the flowering of a tree: it is the natural growth of the tree of life. But if there were trees that had an interest in preventing the flowering, then they would surely call it revolution. And conservatives of winter would fight against each spring. ... Short memory and meager insight suffice to confuse growth with overthrow." (p. 141)
Great Composer, Great Book.......2002-04-15
I don't understand musical notation, but when Mr. Shawn goes into detail, his inspiration is transmitted to me, and I want to go hear the work.
Schoenberg is tough, true. But I hope people will read this book and see he was human and passionate.
It's really silly that I haven't had the opportunity to hear one of the greatest composer's music in concert. Will that change?
With more advocates such as Mr. Shawn, I can hope so.
A great book.......2002-04-06
Thank you, Allen Shawn, for putting Arnold Schoenberg in the light that he deserves to be viewed in.
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Composition with Twelve Notes Related Only to One Another
Josef Rufer
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press Reprint
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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