September 13 - Arnold Schoenberg (The Musical Birthday Series)

Arnold Schoenberg (13 September 1874 – 13 July 1951) was a towering figure in the musical life of the twentieth century. (NB: The facetious nonsense about Mrs. Coolidge and Mrs. Schoenberg has no basis in fact.)

That Eureka Moment: A Suite

The rules of the old status quo 

Were stretched to the limits, and so

The tonal foundations

Of such modulations

Were harder and harder to know.

Like waves on an unsteady sea,

He constantly strayed from the key;

And if he got queasy 

In conditions like these he

Set the tonality free.

At last with no further to go

He stood up and shouted, “I know!

To ensure I won’t enter

A new tonal center

I’m hereby inventing the row!”

Works

Pierrot Lunaire

When performing the sprechstimme role

She felt she was losing control.

“I feel like I’m broken,

Half sung and half spoken --

I’m torn between body and soul.”

Op. 37

As he started his Fourth String Quartet,

Which he thought his most beautiful yet,

He worked with material

Both thorny and serial, 
Leaving poor Mrs. Coolidge upset.

Moses und Aron

A printed libretto in prose is

What’s left of the third act of Moses.

So even if you 

Can get through act two,

You’ll never find out out it closes.

Life

(i)

When invited for drinks in LA,

I suppose that they asked him to play,

But then got a start

When his Rodgers and Hart

Was arranged in an atonal way.

(ii)

Said Schoenberg, at home with his Gertie,

“I think I’ll compose something purtie.”

And Gertrude replied 

As she went to his side,

“You naughty boy, don’t talk so dirty.”

Afterlife

(i)

When Boulez said,"Schoenberg is dead,"

He couldn't quite mean what he said:

Though sisters and brothers

Spurn fathers and mothers,

They can’t keep them out of their head.

(ii)

When Boulez wrote, "Schoenberg is dead

Go listen to Webern instead."

It came as a shock

To the serial flock

Who could hardly believe what they read.

(If you enjoy these posts, please consider helping me by sharing.)