Arnold Schoenberg was born in the Jewish Ghetto of Leopoldstadt in 1874 and is buried in Vienna, though he died in Los Angeles, California in 1951.1)
Schoenberg grew up in a non-musical household. They enjoyed listening to music, but they were untrained.2)
He was essentially self-taught, acquiring knowledge whenever and whenever he could, beginning violin lessons in 1882.3)
In 1949, he stated in his book “Introduction to My Four Quartets”:“As a child of less than nine years, I had started composing little, and later large pieces, for two violins, in imitation of such music as I used to play with my teacher or with a cousin of mine. When I could play violin duets of Viotti, Pleyel and others, I imitated their style.”4)
Schoenberg produced some wonderful artwork, including self-portraits, in addition to composing, conducting, and writing.5)
Schoenberg began privately teaching music to chosen students in the mid-1900s. Alban Berg, Leon Kirchner, and Anton Webern were among his most renowned atonality students. During this time, he rose to prominence as the leader of the Second Viennese School of Music.6)
He wrote “Harmonielehre” (Theory of Harmony) in 1910, and it is still one of the most influential works he wrote.7)
Schoenberg's String Quartet No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op. 10 (1908) is widely regarded as one of the earliest examples of modern classical music… However, it did not receive a warm welcome. The majority of the audience and journalists were stunned. Although the first two movements are Romantic in style, soprano singer Marie Gutheil-Schoder mixes poetry penned by Stefan George with very powerful music in the third and fourth movements.8)
His invention of serialism (the 12-tone composition system) in the 1920s was innovative. The notion is centered on organizing a “row” or “series” of the twelve notes on the chromatic scale in a precise way, and focuses around a more mathematical approach to music composition. The row is then played in a variety of directions, including inverted, reversed, and transposed. As a result, musical unity is produced in a highly logical manner.9)
With the emergence of the National Socialist Party in Germany, his music was called “degenerate” as a Jewish artist. After being denied admission to the Prussian Academy by the Nazi political movement in 1933, he escaped to the United States. At this time, he began teaching at the Malkin Conservatory in Boston and New York.10)
At the request of Pablo Casals, he composes the Konzert für Violoncello und Orchester (D-Dur), in a free version of Georg Matthias Monn's Concerto for Harpsichord.11)
In 1935, he lectured at the University of Southern California and gave private lessons. At the time, renowned modern composer John Cage became his student.12)
Arnold Schoenberg was appointed professor at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1936 (he would be made professor emeritus in 1944) and relocated to “Brentwood Park, West Los Angeles, where he will live for the rest of his life.” This year, he also “befriends” George Gershwin.13)
In 1939, he spent most of his energy and effort attempting to move relatives and friends out of Europe in order to avoid the socialist party's genocide. The family of his son Georg spent the war in Germany.14)
By 1949, his poor health had prevented him from coming to Vienna to celebrate his 75th birthday, for which he had been awarded “citizen of the City of Vienna.”15)
He was designated Honorary President of the Israeli Academy of Music in Jerusalem in 1951, the year he died.16)