Arnold Schoenberg
Austrian-American · 1874–1951
Composer and music theorist who revolutionized Western music through atonality and the twelve-tone technique. His theoretical writings in Harmonielehre and Style and Idea remain foundational texts for understanding modern composition.
Wikipedia ↗“Die Emanzipation der Dissonanz bedeutet, dass Dissonanzen nicht mehr als auflösungsbedürftig behandelt werden.”
German
“The emancipation of the dissonance means that dissonances are no longer treated as requiring resolution. They are free to exist on their own terms, as consonances always have been. This is not chaos — it is a broader understanding of harmony.”
“Einmal, in der Armee, wurde ich gefragt, ob ich wirklich der Komponist Arnold Schönberg sei. Ich sagte: Irgendjemand musste es sein, und niemand sonst wollte, also habe ich es auf mich genommen.”
German
“Once, in the army, I was asked if I was really the composer Arnold Schoenberg. I said: Somebody had to be, and nobody else wanted to, so I took it on myself.”
“Meine Werke sind Zwölftonkompositionen, nicht Zwölftonkompositionen. Die Betonung liegt auf Komposition.”
German
“My works are twelve-tone compositions, not twelve-tone compositions. The emphasis is on composition. The method is the tool, not the essence. A bad composer with twelve tones is no better than a bad composer with seven.”
“Wenn es Kunst ist, ist es nicht für alle, und wenn es für alle ist, ist es nicht Kunst.”
German
“If it is art, it is not for all, and if it is for all, it is not art.”
“Ich war nie revolutionär. Der einzige Revolutionär ist, wer verzichten kann.”
German
“I was never revolutionary. The only revolutionary is the one who can do without. I simply followed an inner compulsion which was stronger than any education, and I composed as my blood demanded.”
“Die zweite Hälfte dieses Jahrhunderts wird durch Überschätzung wieder verderben, was immer die erste Hälfte durch Unterschätzung von mir übrig gelassen hat.”
German
“The second half of this century will spoil by overestimation whatever the first half, by underestimation, has left unspoiled of me.”