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United States, Here I Come!

I am currently at the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin and I am the Director of the Master Class. While I was on my vacation in France, someone told me that I should not return to Germany. I quickly rushed to Paris and renewed my membership in the Jewish religion. I soon found out that Germany was not safe because Hitler and Nazis have taken over Germany. In my head, I thought it would be chaos because Hitler and the Nazis do not like Jews. So, my family and I immediately went over to the United States, where we were free of any harm the Nazi regime could do to us. In the United States, I had got my first teaching job in Malkan Conservatory in Boston where I taught music theory. From the east coast, I later moved to the west coast where I settled in Brentwood Park. I was offered jobs at the University of Southern California and the University of Los Angeles. I was very excited to be able to have two job opportunities. However, I had taught only for a while at University of Southern California and went to teach at University of Los Angeles. There I taught my new atonal music and my twelve-tone composition. Also, Leonard Rosenman and George Trembley had studied there while I was teaching. The United States has treated me well, especially Los Angeles where I could spread my knowledge about music to others. 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schoenberg

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0778167/bio

A Survivor from Warsaw

A Survivor from Warsaw

I was inspired to composed a piece in memory of the people who have suffered from the Holocaust. This piece is called A Survivor from Warsaw. The things that happen from the Holocaust hit me hard because I come from a Jewish family. Why would anyone be so cruel to harm people because they are Jews? I do not think that is even justice. The killings of innocent Jews just to create a place for Aryans is not nice. Even worse, the Nazi regime did not even stop at Germany, it had suddenly become all Jews! I am also Jew, so it really hurts to know that people think Jews are inferior people. I also heard about the death camps especially the one at Auschwitz. In my opinion, I think that is the most horrible and worst thing anyone can do. Why does the Nazi regime kill every single Jew, including children! Us Jews are not free workers, we are not animals, and most of all, we are not inferior to anyone! Jews do not deserve this type of treatment. To torture us and use us for the Nazi's advantage is just horrible! Germans killing more than half of the Jews in Europe is just evil. So, those that have been affected by the Holocaust and the victims that have died from the Holocaust, I composed a song in memory for all who suffered, A Survivor from Warsaw.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schoenberg

Twelve-Tone Video!

TWELVE TONE COMPOSITION

The Twelve-Tone Composition

I want to introduce something very different, the twelve-tone composition. This consists of a scale of twelve notes independent of any tonal keys. This new technique is part of my atonal music. I had intended the twelve-tone composition to assure the greatness of German music. I was excited that my new technique would possibly put Germany on top in music. Also, I felt that the twelve-tone would replace the tonal harmonies that are present in other music. Although my technique uses unordered hexacords, I feel that the distinct sound of the music creates a certain harmony that other music pieces cannot mimic. The music created simulates "a sense of unity and style that cannot be supported by evidence." The twelve-tone helps achieve the classical harmony that was present in German music. The simpler and clearer sound in the music produces tones that are related to each other. I feel the forms of atonal music could not be achieved by anything else other than the twelve-tone composition. The tonality had been abandoned and been replaced by a new classical harmony created by simple tones. I really hope that my new technique of the twelve-tone composition could help assure the superiority of German music!


Sources:
http://www.classiccat.net/schonberg_a/biography.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-tone_technique
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/arts/music/14tomm.html

Harmonielehre

I deeply believe that my new work is not my music, but my knowledge. I would love to share to everyone my book, Harmonielehre. I want to spread my ideas about music to everyone out there so they can create new and great music. My belief is that German tradition is the greatest tradition in music. I want people to know that music is not just from our thoughts, but previous musicians as well. A great composer must be able to used past masterpieces and create a whole new piece of music to inspire the world. German traditions are a must to be able to compose great music. I want people to know the Western system of Harmony which would help with self expression. Also, the study of harmony and then turning it into a harmonic chord is a necessity. With these principles, I was able to create a radical style of music which I called atonal music. Atonal music was radical in a way that it had the absence of keycenters and the increase of chromaticism. Both of theses ideas to create atonal music, I had been inspired by Beethoven and Wagner. To make sure that everyone can succeed in learning my atonal music, I propose that people should learn start from an easy level and progress to the increase of complexity. I try my best to help people achieve the classical harmony that comes with the new atonal music that I have created.

Source:
http://www.oocities.org/al6an6erg/essays.html

My Own Video!

My Background

My name is Arnold Schonberg and I was born on September 13, 1874 in Austria. My father, Samuel Schonberg,was a shopkeeper while my mother, Pauline, was a piano teacher. My family neither rich nor poor, so I would consider us middle class. My inspiration for music led to a great deal of trying to teach myself the art of music. I guess my mom's musical talents had rubbed off on me because she never really taught me anything. However, Alexander von Zemlinsky, my brother-in-law, had given me quite a few lessons so I can play much better. During my twenties, I had started making a living by composing my own music and orchestrating operas. Richard Strauss had heard one of my pieces of music, Gurre-Lieder, and after 1909, he began to support me. I was overjoyed by his decision to help me in my music career. This happiness would help me get over my wife, Mathilde, who left me for some painter. This year, I completed my best work yet, the String Quartet No. 2! During 1910, I decided to spread my intelligence in the subject of music to everyone in my book Harmonielehre. In 1912, Wilhem Bopp had asked me and Franz Schreker to join his great Vienna Conservatory and teach there. I had declined even though the salary was quite high, but Schreker had taken the job. I later wrote to him saying, "It would be a bad idea for you to accept the teaching position." At age 42, my life took an unexpected turn when I went into the army fighting in World War I. I left many of my musical pieces unfinished and was unable to create new works. An officer also questioned my identity, and I quite remember I responded, "Beg to report, sir, yes. Nobody wanted to be, someone had to be, so I let it be me." In 1920, I had developed a new system of composition, the twelve-tone composition which is the use of a scale of tweleve notes independent of any tonal key. The Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin had appointed me as post in 1925 and I had started in 1926. After the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, I was warned not to return to Germany. I took my family and had to the United States where I began teaching at Malkan Conservatory in Boston. Later, I moved to Brentwood Park, where I had settled down and taught at University of Southern California and then the University of Los Angeles. At the University of Los Angeles, I had composed most of my works including Violin Concerto, Kol Nidre, Piano Concerto, and A Survivor from Warsaw. The thing that people do not know about me is that I had a terrible condition called triskaidekaphobia, which is the fear of the number 13. On my 76 birthday, I had received a letter that my 76th birthday would be a "crucial one because 7+6=13." I guess this led me to my deep depression. I quickly fell ill and have anxiety. I have been lying in my bed since July 13, 1951 feeling sick, weak, and anxious. 


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schoenberg
http://www.classiccat.net/schonberg_a/biography.php