This book takes advantage of 30 years of recent scholarship, new biographical information, and deeper understanding of Schoenberg’s aims and significance to produce a newly revised guide to Schoenberg’s life and work. The book demonstrates the indissoluble links among Schoenberg’s musical language (particularly the enigmatic and influential 12-tone method), his personal character, and his creative ideas, as well as the deep connection between his genius as a teacher and as a revolutionary composer. Exploring influences on the composer’s early life, the book offers a new perspective on Schoenbe ... More

This book takes advantage of 30 years of recent scholarship, new biographical information, and deeper understanding of Schoenberg’s aims and significance to produce a newly revised guide to Schoenberg’s life and work. The book demonstrates the indissoluble links among Schoenberg’s musical language (particularly the enigmatic and influential 12-tone method), his personal character, and his creative ideas, as well as the deep connection between his genius as a teacher and as a revolutionary composer. Exploring influences on the composer’s early life, the book offers a new perspective on Schoenberg’s creative process and the emotional content of his music. For example, as a previously unsuspected source of childhood trauma, the book points to the Vienna Ringtheater disaster of 1881, in which hundreds of people were burned to death, including Schoenberg’s uncle and aunt, whose orphaned children were then adopted by Schoenberg’s parents. The book brings such experiences to bear on the music itself, examining virtually every work in the oeuvre to demonstrate its vitality and many-sidedness.