Arnold Schoenberg

Date of Birth: September 13, 1874

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Date of Death: July 13, 1951

Biography

Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, music theorist, and painter, known for pioneering atonal music and developing the twelve-tone technique. Born in Vienna on September 13, 1874, into a Jewish family, Schoenberg showed early musical promise, studying violin and later composition under Zemlinsky. His early works were in the late-Romantic style, but he soon began to explore new musical structures, leading to the creation of atonal music around 1908. Schoenberg’s innovations in music theory and composition were groundbreaking, though they were initially met with resistance and controversy. His move to the twelve-tone technique in the 1920s was a radical departure from traditional tonal music and influenced many future composers. In 1933, with the rise of the Nazi regime, Schoenberg emigrated to the United States, where he taught at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles. He became an American citizen in 1941 and continued to compose, teach, and write until his death. Schoenberg passed away on July 13, 1951, in Los Angeles, California.

5 Interesting Facts about Arnold Schoenberg

1. Schoenberg was largely self-taught in composition, with only informal lessons from composer Alexander von Zemlinsky.

2. He developed the twelve-tone technique, a method of composition that uses a series of all twelve notes in the chromatic scale equally.

3. Schoenberg’s students included notable composers such as Alban Berg and Anton Webern.

4. He also had a brief but serious interest in painting and was associated with the expressionist movement.

5. Schoenberg’s opera “Moses und Aron” is considered one of his most significant works, though it remained incomplete at his death.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Arnold Schoenberg

1. “I was made a composer. I was not made a critic. I was made a composer, and I must fulfill my task as best I can.”

2. “My music is not modern, it is merely badly played.”

3. “If it is art, it is not for all, and if it is for all, it is not art.”

4. “I have never seen a more natural expression of a musician’s nature than the one that is in the work of Alban Berg.”

5. “I am a conservative who was forced to become a radical.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

Arnold Schoenberg’s net worth was modest by today’s standards; it is difficult to estimate precisely, but he lived comfortably as a university professor and composer.

Children

Arnold Schoenberg had three children: 1. Trudi Schoenberg (1902–1925) 2. Gertrud (“Trudi”) Kolisch (1902–1947) 3. Georg Schoenberg (1914–1974) 4. Nuria Schoenberg Nono (1932–)