29/07/2021 OneNote

SCHÖENBERG 
Wednesday, 1 July 2020  4:06 PM 

1. INTRODUCTION 
Musicians and composers push the boundaries of music and one such composer is Arnold Schoenberg.
He invented the 12 tone technique also known as the the tone row which gives all 12 tones equal
emphasis.   
 
 
1.1) Expressionism in VA   
 
Before I delve into expressionism in music, I would like to communicate some of my findings in
expressionism especially within visual arts.  
 

Fig 1.1 : Dance Around the Golden Calf, oil painting by Emil Nolde, 1910; in the Bayerische Staatsgemaldesammlungen, Munich 
 
I chose this painting in fig 1.1 as it depicts  a style in which the artists seeks to illustrate subjective
feelings through distortion, vivid colours and jarring features such as the way the people in the painting
are dancing which not a conventional dance style. These characteristics  translate onto music as well. I
have to admit that in my opinion I am not very fond of Jarring features as sometimes it scares me but
learning about the theory and context behind this jarring music has provided me with a new
perspective.  
 
2. CONTEXT  
 
Paris and Vienna were facing similar dilemmas when testing the boundaries of the social construct of
music, so when Debussy and Stravinsky were developing impressionism, the Germans started to develop
expressionism. Schoenbergs music was seen as being clean and a confirmation of traditional German
music, but gradually the expressionism movement started to develop. Expressionism was a modernist
movement, the music usually contained a high level of dissonance and extreme contrasts of dynamics ad
changing textures. The melodies were most of the time distorted and and had extremes of pitches.  
 
 
SCHOENBERG  
 
 
Arnold Schoenberg was born in Vienna in 1874, he was ap professor of composition in berlin and later in
Los Angeles. He began the second Viennese school. Through his compositions his pieces started to
become more dissonant and chromatic. These are the characteristics categorized under expressionistic
music . He was very intrigued by how music can be creates by losing a sense of key and drifting into a
less obvious atmosphere which we now know as atonality. His music was difficult to understand.  Not
many appreciated the music he was trying to compose as the  lack of key caused not only confusion but
unrest.   
 
 
HIS PIECES  
 
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29/07/2021 OneNote
PERIPETIE  
  
Peripeitie from the 5 orchestral movements is  a very intense piece with shifts in orchestration, speed
and mood. There are contatly changing musical patterns. This piece like anoyother piece we have
encountered had some small ideas known as motifs.  
 
‫ممرمر جااحجاكمتز توجسوعععا وك‬

 
Fig 1.2 shows the  5th movement of Schoenberg's 6 little piano pieces.  
 
I chose this piece as it shows the height of expressionism meaning that this piece is perfect composition
of different keys creating a confusing atmosphere and thus leading to a conclusion of atonality.  

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