Arnold Schoenberg: Biography and Musical Revolution
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Questions and Answers

Which of the following best describes Schoenberg's initial professional path before fully dedicating himself to music?

  • He was a painter associated with Expressionist art.
  • He worked as a lawyer to support his family.
  • He was employed in a bank while studying music. (correct)
  • He owned a shoe store like his father.

What was the significance of the Society for Private Musical Performances, founded by Schoenberg?

  • It served as a school for aspiring conductors.
  • It promoted only his own compositions.
  • It was established to promote contemporary music. (correct)
  • It aimed to preserve classical music traditions.

Which artistic movement, characterized by the use of vivid colors and shapes to express emotions, influenced Schoenberg's work?

  • Expressionist art (correct)
  • Realism
  • Impressionism
  • Cubism

What is the central theme or subject of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire?

<p>A series of German songs based on French poems about a sad clown. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which characteristic differentiates the West Indian steel drum from other drums listed?

<p>It can produce different notes, allowing a tune to be played. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which composer did Schoenberg meet early in his career, who significantly influenced his musical development?

<p>Alexander von Zemlinsky (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How did the rise of the Nazi government in Germany impact Arnold Schoenberg's life?

<p>It prompted him to leave Germany and eventually become a US Citizen. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does altering the tension of a drum's membrane affect its sound?

<p>It alters the pitch of the sound produced. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a defining characteristic of Gustav Mahler's symphonies that influenced Arnold Schoenberg?

<p>Their theatrical nature, full of contrasts and shifting parts, employing a large orchestra. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the drums listed utilizes cords to modify its pitch during performance?

<p>Tsuzumi (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In what context are rattle drums primarily used by Indigenous people of North America?

<p>During ceremonies and rituals. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT true about Arnold Schoenberg's opera Moses and Aaron?

<p>It premiered to immediate critical acclaim and widespread popularity during his lifetime. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What physical property defines drums as membranophones?

<p>Their sound production through vibrating stretched membranes. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following drums is LEAST likely to be found in a modern orchestra?

<p>Tabor (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

If a musician wants to emulate the sound of a 13th-century military band, which of the following instruments would be most appropriate?

<p>Tabor (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the pellet drum create sound?

<p>By rattling pellets against the drum surface. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire is considered atonal because it:

<p>Lacks a discernible key or tonic, creating a sense of unsettlement. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements best describes Schoenberg's motivation for developing new compositional techniques?

<p>To explore and express deep emotions and dramatic ideas in his music. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is sprechstimme, as used in Pierrot Lunaire, and how is it indicated in the musical score?

<p>A technique of half-spoken, half-sung delivery, marked by small crosses through the note stems or noteheads. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'atonal' mean in the context of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire?

<p>The music lacks a tonal center or key, creating a sense of dissonance and unease. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder is notable for what characteristic?

<p>Its massive scale, requiring a huge orchestra, multiple choirs, soloists, and a narrator. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How did Schoenberg's creative expression evolve over time, considering his involvement in both music and painting?

<p>He initially used painting to explore his emotions but ultimately concluded that music was a better means of expression. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Schoenberg developed a system for composing with 12 notes. Which of the following is a key characteristic of this system?

<p>Giving equal importance to all 12 notes in an octave. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was the general reception of Arnold Schoenberg's works during his lifetime?

<p>They were mostly criticized and misunderstood, but later became an inspiration to future composers. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Arnold Schoenberg

Austrian composer who developed the 12-tone system.

12-tone system

A system of musical composition using all 12 tones of the chromatic scale in a specific order to avoid a tonal center.

Expressionism

A style of art, literature, and music that seeks to express emotional experience rather than impressions of the external world.

Gustav Mahler

Late-Romantic composer known for his large-scale symphonies with theatrical elements.

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Pierrot Lunaire

A collection of songs by Arnold Schoenberg based on 21 poems by Albert Giraud.

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Sprechstimme

Speech-song, a style of vocal performance between singing and speaking.

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Alban Berg & Anton Webern

Schoenberg's students who also used the 12-tone system.

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Wassily Kandinsky

An early 20th-century Russian painter and art theorist, considered a pioneer of abstract art.

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Atonal

A musical system with no key or tonic, creating an unsettled and strange feeling.

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Twelve-tone technique

A system of composing using all 12 notes in an octave, giving each note equal importance.

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Gurre-Lieder

A large work for orchestra, choirs, soloists, and narrator based on Danish poems.

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Atonality

The absence of a tonal center or key in a musical composition.

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Chromatic Scale notes

Notes in an octave that includes both the white and black keys on a piano.

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Membranophones

A category of percussion instruments that produce sound when a stretched membrane is struck.

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Drum

A percussion instrument consisting of a membrane stretched over a frame or body, which produces sound when struck.

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Tsuzumi

Japanese hourglass-shaped drum where pitch is altered by squeezing cords.

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Tabor

A two-headed drum played with drumsticks, producing a crisp sound.

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Timpani

Orchestral percussion instruments with a foot pedal system to change pitch.

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Darbuka

Goblet-shaped, single-headed drum played with the hands.

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Bongos

Pair of attached single-headed drums of different sizes, used in Latin American music.

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West Indian Steel Drum

Metal drum from Trinidad where different areas produce different notes, allowing melodies to be played.

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Study Notes

  • Arnold Schoenberg was a self-taught Austrian composer who revolutionized Western classical music in the 20th century.
  • He prioritized expressing emotions and drama over composing for popular taste.
  • Schoenberg faced criticism during his lifetime, but his work later inspired future composers.

Biography

  • 1874: Schoenberg was born in the Jewish quarter of Vienna, Austria; his father owned a shoe store.
  • 1883: He played the violin and composed by age nine.
  • 1891: At 17, he worked in a bank to support his mother and fund evening music studies.
  • 1894: He joined the Polyhymnia orchestra and met Alexander von Zemlinsky.
  • 1895: Schoenberg left the bank to become a conductor and chorus master.
  • 1898: At 24, he converted from Judaism to Protestantism.
  • 1904: Schoenberg taught at Schwarzwald School; Alban Berg and Anton Webern were among his students, later embracing the 12-tone system.
  • 1912: At age 38, he toured Europe and Russia as a conductor and lecturer; "Pierrot Lunaire" premiered successfully in Berlin.
  • 1918: Schoenberg founded the Society for Private Musical Performances.
  • 1933: At age 59, he fled Germany to the U.S. due to Nazi anti-Jewish policies.
  • He became a professor at the University of California and gained U.S. citizenship in 1941.
  • 1951: Schoenberg died at 77, leaving his 12-tone opera "Moses and Aaron" unfinished; his memorial is located in Vienna's Central Cemetery.

Musical Style and Influences

  • Schoenberg developed new techniques to express emotions and drama in his music.
  • Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), influenced him through the use of a large orchestra, theatrical contrasts and shifting parts.
  • Expressionist art also influenced him; early 20th-century artists used vivid colors and shapes to express emotions.

Pierrot Lunaire

  • "Pierrot Lunaire" is a series of German songs based on 21 poems by Albert Giraud (1884).
  • A soprano, dressed as a sad clown, sings with a whitened face and loose black-and-white clothing.
  • The piece is accompanied by five instruments.
  • A strange, dreamlike voice part uses "sprechstimme," a technique blending speech and singing.

Atonality and the 12-Tone System

  • Schoenberg moved away from traditional Western music, which is set in a key, to create atonal music.
  • "Pierrot Lunaire" lacks a tonic and musical scale, creating unsettled feelings.
  • Eight years later, he developed a system using all 12 notes in an octave, giving equal importance to each.

Other Endeavors

  • From 1907, Schoenberg painted to express emotions; he later focused on music.
  • He was a great tennis player playing with George Gershwin and also feared the number 13.

Gurre-Lieder

  • "Gurre-Lieder" premiered in 1913.
  • It is a cantata for orchestra, four choirs, five soloists, and a narrator.
  • Set in a medieval Danish romantic and tragic legend by Jens Peter Jacobsen, about Gurre Castle in Denmark.
  • In its creation, Schoenberg's composing style changed and matured.

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Description

Explore the life and musical innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, a self-taught Austrian composer who transformed Western classical music in the 20th century. From his early life in Vienna to his development of the 12-tone system, discover how Schoenberg's dedication to emotional expression over popular appeal reshaped musical composition.

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