Schoenberg - Why He Matters

In his time, the Austrian American composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) was an international icon. His twelve-tone system was considered the future of music itself. Today, however, leading orchestras rarely play his works and his name is met with apathy, if not antipathy. With this interpretative account, the acclaimed biographer of Toscanini finally restores Schoenberg to his rightful place in the canon, revealing him as one of the twentieth century's most influential composers and teachers. Sachs shows how Schoenberg, a thorny character who composed thorny works, raged against the "Procrustean bed" of tradition. Defying his critics-among them the Nazis, who described his music as "degenerate"-he constantly battled the anti-Semitism that eventually precipitated his flight from Europe to Los Angeles. Yet Schoenberg, synthesising Wagnerian excess with Brahmsian restraint, created a shock wave that never quite subsided and, as Sachs powerfully argues, his compositions must be confronted by anyone interested in the past, present or future of Western music.

About the author

Harvey Sachs is the author or coauthor of eleven books, including Toscanini and Music in Fascist Italy. He lives in New York City and is on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Product details

• Authors: Harvey Sachs
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 24.05.2025
• EAN: 9781324096191
• ISBN: 978-1-324-09619-1
• Dimensions: 140 mm x 211 mm x 15 mm
• Weight: 226 g
• Illustrations: 10 illustrations
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Music > Monographs; European History, Individual composers & musicians, specific bands & groups, ART / Individual Artists / General, MUSIC / Individual Composer & Musician, MUSIC / Genres & Styles / Classical, HISTORY / Europe / Austria & Hungary, Empires & historical states, Individual artists, art monographs, Musicians, singers, bands and groups, Composers and songwriters, Classical Music (C 1750 To C 1830), Classical style, History of art: ancient & classical art,BCE to c 500 CE, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Art music, orchestral and formal music, Western "classical" music