Transcript Arnold Schoenberg

Arnold
Schoenberg
1874-1951
Background
Born
in Austria, but moved to U.S. in
1933
Other than a few scattered lessons,
he was mostly self taught
Learned composition by studying the
works of earlier composers like
Wagner and Brahms
Misc. Facts/ Body of Work
Was
the leader of the Second Viennese
School – an influential group of composers
He composed music in order to express his
emotions
Was also famous for his paintings and
sketches
Wrote chamber music, orchestral pieces
and even operas
Twelve-tone Serialism
A
compositional method that uses all 12
chromatic tones, arranged in rows, to
create a larger work
Original tone row
Retrograde-backwards
Inversion-inverted intervals
Retrograde Inversion-inversion row
backwards
“Der Mondfleck” - Pierrot
Lunaire
Period:
Modern
Country: Austria
Genre: Melodrama
Form: Poems set to chamber music
(piano, flute(piccolo), clarinet(bass
clarinet), violin and cello)
“Der Mondfleck”
 Pierrot
is obsessed with his jacket.
 Gypsum is a soft, white mineral.
 Uses the sprechstimme technique - “speech
singing” - strict rhythms with a loose
interpretation of pitches - creates a “sing-song”
feel
 Serialism – see previous definition
 Serialism is atonal. Atonal – music that lacks a
tonal center or key signature