Schoenberg in Context

Explores the richly variegated world that shaped Schoenberg's radical creativity, and showcases his central importance within and beyond musical modernism.

Alexander Carpenter (Edited by)

9781316513828, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 September 2025

376 pages
23.5 x 16 x 2.5 cm, 0.69 kg

Contradictory and paradoxical, Schoenberg was responsible for explosively radical innovations in composition - including atonality and the twelve-tone method - that changed the face of music in the twentieth century. This volume explores Schoenberg's life, work and world, offering contributions from internationally recognized musicologists, music theorists, cultural historians, literary scholars and more. Chapters examine the different places where Schoenberg lived, his various approaches to composition, the people and institutions that shaped his life and work, and the big issues and ideas that informed his worldview, including religion, gender, technology and politics. This book is essential for students and educators but also accessible to a general audience interested in the intersections of music, modernity, society and culture, offering a variety of fresh, multi-disciplinary perspectives on Schoenberg and his richly variegated world.

List of illustrations
List of musical examples
Notes on contributors
Preface and acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Part I. Schoenberg in Place: 1. At home: a conversation with Nuria Schoenberg-Nono Alexander Carpenter
2. Vienna Mirjana Plath
3. Schoenberg's Three Berlins Joseph Auner
4. Mödling Eike Feß
5. Los Angeles Sabine Feisst
Part II. More Than a Composer: 6. Schoenberg the Painter Raymond Coffer
7. Schoenberg the Teacher Gordon Root
8. Schoenberg the Theorist Severine Neff
9. Schoenberg the Writer Steven J. Cahn
Part III. Approaches to Composition: 10. Tonality Walter Frisch
11. Atonality Richard Kurth
12. The twelve-tone style Jack Boss
Part IV. Paradoxes and Predicaments: 13. Popular Music John Covach
14. Money (and mythos) Alexander Carpenter
15. The gender of modernism Elizabeth L. Keathley
Part V. Schoenberg's Others: 16. Richard Wagner Matthias Schmidt
17. Johannes Brahms Lucy Y. Liu
18. Igor Stravinsky (and Adorno) Stephen D. Smith
19. Alexander Zemlinsky Clare Carrasco
20. Gustav Mahler Federico Celestini
21. Richard Strauss James Deaville
22. Alban Berg and Anton Webern Alexander Carpenter
Part VI. Viennese Institutions: 23. Café Culture Diane V. Silverthorne
24. Empire – the Habsburgs Joseph F. Patrouch
25. Theatre Sherry Lee
26. Psychoanalysis Daniela Finzi
Part VII. Performers and Critics: 27. Performing Schoenberg Mark Berry
28. Music criticism and music critics Benjamin M. Korstvedt
Part XIII. Convictions and Interventions: 29. Religion Pamela Cooper-White
30. Philosophy James K. Wright
31. War and politics Joon Park
32. Poetry, literature and language Jeremy Tambling
33. Technology J. Daniel Jenkins
Index.

Subject Areas: 20th century & contemporary classical music [AVGC6]