Schoenberg explained in 10 Minutes

Composer Samuel Andreyev presents a concise introduction to the work of Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), one of the most controversial composers of the modern period.
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[@TdF_101]

A music teacher once told me: "You want to try to understand Schoenberg more? Try listening to his works in chronological order and you'll hear many interesting things". Needless to say I did do this over time and some of the same things you mention in this video became very clear to me.

[@janeCate1]

Very true!

[@monsterjazzlicks]

I'm doing the same with the music recordings of Chick Corea.

[@sunnyjim1355]

You had a very good music teacher.

[@ordinarryalien]

A music teacher once told me, "If you want good grades you know what to do." Then, he lowered his pants.

[@eleanorsopwith9806]

Thank you for sharing that TdF 🙏

[@nevbarnes1034]

He's known for his atonal work, yet _Verklärte Nacht_ is quite simply the most sublimely beauteous piece you will ever hear.

[@cornicello]

Leon Kirchner had studied with Schoenberg, and had some wonderful comments and stories. The students would try to confound him by finding an obscure Romantic-era work, playing an excerpt for him (right before class), and asking him to ID the composer/music. According to Kirchner, Schoenberg always, without fail, correctly identified the work/composer.

[@samuel_andreyev]

I hadn't heard that. Nice anecdote.

[@cornicello]

@@null3707 Sorry no - this was a story he had told me over dinner once. I don't know if it appeared anywhere in print.

[@robertslagle7176]

@@cornicello Kirchner wrote a book but if I remember right it's currently on the high end of the price range.

[@limaromeo8745]

I’ve never heard anyone talk about Schoenberg like this. It actually makes me want to listen to his music

[@sunnyjim1355]

Schoenberg is amazing. most underrated. However, if you grow to appreciate Schoenberg's music, you will lose 'friends'. 😁

[@kksrinathchathuranga943]

ඒක ඇත්ත

[@segmentsAndCurves]

@@sunnyjim1355 😁

[@Tubluer]

It's true, he does. But the sad fact is that what he says about the music is far more beautiful than the music itself.

[@Whatismusic123]

emotionally weak

[@bassoonistfromhell]

I first heard Schoenberg when I was in my early teens and it completely rocked my world.

[@robertslagle7176]

When I first heard his Violin Concerto in music appreciation class in college I found it to be almost unlistenable and unfathomable. Craggy and difficult music. 57 years later I find it to be relaxing, nostalgic, and filled with many moments of great Beauty. I like music that leaves you with better ears.

[@PEGGLORE]

Ever heard The Residents? They are certainly unique, you may feel the same about them. This record is the most like a classical piece of music that they did. Their other stuff is quite a bit different and harder to listen to the 1st time.. The music is however well composed and highly nuanced on repeated listens.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aGXUqoaAhs98mqc

[@andrewbarrow3466]

I agree. 30 years ago I found the Violin Concerto too hard going to listen to. Now I love it, particularly in the recording by Hilary Hahn.

[@machida5114]

@@PEGGLORE The Residents is so good

[@robertslagle7176]

@@PEGGLORE very familiar with them. When I worked at the Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard there was a health food store one street over and I used to bump into them occasionally there when I got a smoothie or something. Very understated very nice people.

[@eleanorsopwith9806]

💛🎻🙏🕊🦉🌠

[@mariam_much]

In love with fact that this video is 13 minutes long (Schoenberg was terrified of that number his whole life) and also, 13 was composer's birth and death date. Still hunting him till this day

[@davewallace1209]

I got into Schoenberg at the same time as I got into John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, so their musics hang together in my mind. Your comment about being simultaneously a conservative and a radical applies here when you think about the way that free jazz, even up to today, frequently employs the instrumentation of bebop, when there is obviously no more need to do so. In another picture, we see Olivier Messiaen, descendant of Schoenberg with his own unique methods and stylings - yet when he taught harmony it was apparently the tonal tradition that he taught, not his own discoveries at all. Lastly I want to request you to speak about the man I call The Last Great German Composer, the ultra-serialist who also looked backwards and forwards at the same time - my man, Karlheinz Stockhausen. Thank you for your insights. D.

[@robertmassucci1]

zappa

[@nidhishshivashankar4885]

This makes perfect sense to me

[@davewallace1209]

@@nidhishshivashankar4885 👍

[@qwertyu8832]

I love the part where you said that if you want to learn about tonality, read about it from the perspective of an atonal composer!

[@pawdaw]

Very fond of the Serenade Op. 24 and the String Trio Op. 45. The Five Pieces for Orchestra still blow my mind.

[@christophermitchell7903]

I have always been surprised over the years by the amount of composers who dislike, or challenge the work of Schoenberg. And this has come from composers of all styles of music. This video does a great job of pointing out many reasons why people, specifically composers, have trouble understanding his music. I think one of the main problems not mentioned in this video is the fact that in university courses oftentimes his twelve-tone composition are studied and analyzed far more often than his free-atonal works. Skipping his "tonal" works and free-atonal pieces is a great disservice to understanding his music. In general, his twelve-tone works could be considered more "dry" than his earlier works. So students first learning of his music are given that "dry" first impression of his music. I was fortunate in that my first composition teacher introduced me to the 1st String Quartet, then Op. 11, then the Six Short Piano Pieces, etc before ever hearing his twelve tone music. I fell in love with the music. Also, not mentioned in the video is Schoenberg's Second String Quartet, another work that EVERYONE needs to hear. Thanks again for the video. Looking forward to watching the analysis of Pierrot, which in my opinion is the most revolutionary work composed in the 20th century.

[@DeflatingAtheism]

I've heard it explained that there's a stigma attached to composers who are deemed _important..._ No one wants to listen to _important_ composers, because it reeks of homework!

[@edwardgivenscomposer]

A pity ain't it. Because that's really the good stuff. Prior to his playing at mathematician.

[@sunnyjim1355]

Excellent appraisal of Schoenberg's music and it's position in that cultural tradition. Bravo. I think Schoenberg is a most underrated and misunderstood composer - his music is BEAUTIFUL.

[@k-chill8428]

Recommended pieces are: pierrot lunaire, drei klavierstücke op. 11, fünf orchesterstücke op. 16, gurrelieder, violin concerto op. 36

[@alaskannyc]

I would add: the string Quartets (esp. No. 2); Das Buch der Hängenden Gärten, Op. 15; and Verklärte Nacht.

[@machida5114]

I think gurrelieder isn't recommended

[@machida5114]

Schoenberg did not give the opus number to "gurrelieder".

[@johncrwarner]

My first encounter with Schönberg was seeing on British television Pierrot Lunaire danced by Glen Tetley when I was 17 year old and I was hooked - I went to the local record shop and bought a copy and played it over and over like a pop record - it was entrancing. My next piece I bought was the other LP by Schoenberg they had in the shop - the Wind Quintet (Bläserquintett op. 26) which I also played like a second album by a pop artist. I got to know these two pieces intensely - so I have no idea how many times I have listened to them. My favourite concert ever was slightly bizarre too - it was actually a lecture in a series on the Second Viennese School by the music department of the university I was attending (I was studying Chemistry) but as a student I was allowed to attend other lectures from other departments without taking a course. This was on Schönberg's String Trio (op. 47) - the point was that they had got in a professional string trio who performed the work - then the lecturer talked about the work with excerpts from the string trio to illustrate and then finally performed the piece again in toto. The bizarre thing was it was done in the auditorium of the music department and there were six music students and me in the audience - four on the stage and seven in the audience. I think this is a great way to hear a piece for the first time.

[@johncrwarner]

Here is an extract of the Glen Tetley choreography that entranced me. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKrOf4l8oM18e7s

[@randomserb761]

Thank you for all these great insights. I'm still a complete layperson when it comes to tonal formal music, let alone atonality, but I hope to keep learning slowly 🎵

[@samuel_andreyev]

Glad to be of service.

[@DreamlessSleepwalker]

Can you do an Alban Berg video?

[@benhavey4107]

Excellent content as always!!! My theory of why Schoenberg isn't played that often: Some post-WWII performers approached Second Viennese School works in a dry manner with little expression or interpretation. Think of Boulez's recordings of Webern (and Pollini's) or Glenn Gould's Schoenberg! This is consistent with the values of post-war serialism, but far removed from how Schoenberg/Berg/Webern imagined their own works. Furthermore, it makes Schoenberg's music sound overly-technical and emotionless. When these dry performances are standard, Second Viennese School works become unapproachable and alien to audiences. While there are some merits to this dry type of performance, I believe that Schoenberg's music is more effective and emotionally resonant when played with Mahler and Strauss in mind. Focusing on the intensity and expression (duh!) of this music gives something for audience members to hold on to. Excited for the Pierrot Lunaire video!

[@samuel_andreyev]

Schoenberg: "My music isn't 'modern', it's just badly played."

[@TdF_101]

Ben you're quite right. I've also found this to be especially true with Webern. I've had chance of listening two separate times an orchestra perform his op.10 pieces...in the 2nd concert the conductor & the orchestra were able to evoke the intensity of a mahler symphony in the space of such tightly condensed music. No contest...this was a revelation, like experiencing the energy from the splitting of an atom. And Webern personally expressed this will for intensity with the performance of his piano variations f.e.

[@samuel_andreyev]

@@TdF_101 Lots of people (including me) find the Boulez recordings have actually done a disservice to the music by somehow fundamentally missing the point. While obviously unintentional, this has done a fair bit of damage. Even today, there are Webern pieces for which there is practically no convincing recording available. Fortunately, things like the Hillary Hahn recording of Schoenberg's Violin Concerto are opening up new avenues of interpretation and broadening public appreciation of these works.

[@TdF_101]

@@samuel_andreyev fortunately as time passes listeners, musicologists, musicians, conductors and composers gain a wider perspective on these kind of matters.

[@nathangale7702]

@Ben Havey I think it's interesting that you dislike Gould's Schoenberg interpretations. Just the other day I was listening to the album of Schoenberg music he helped make with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Israel Baker which I found really compelling, probably the most I've enjoyed Schoenberg before (although I can't say that I've invested much time into his music). I would be interested to know what pianists you recommend I listen to instead.

[@MrLextune]

Great video. All of Schoenberg's solo piano music, (it all fits on one CD), is worth knowing. Some of Schoenberg's most experimental moments are contain in his works for solo piano.

[@machida5114]

Unfortunately, there is no definitive recording.

[@lexyberesford5373]

Thank you, MORE MUSIC PLEASE Jordan!!!

[@IanfireArchans]

Studing Schonberg has really improved my understanding of music, and also my love of music. Thanks for the video!

[@likelinus1741]

The best explanation of Schoenberg his work I have ever heard. That also shows his basis of Romantic music which he later completely deconstructed. Very good video, sir!

[@ArturTadevosyan]

Schoenbergs Theory of Harmony was my first music theory book. I absolutely agree It is a fantastic book but maybe not the best one to start with. I was 16 as I got that book in German language at that time i was not patient enought to enjoy the journey but now 25 years later I am enjoing every sentence of it.

[@Anorectic.Bumblebee]

I'm 35 enjoying it in german yet I admire you for being able to read it through by the age of 16!

[@montego2]

Thanks, as always. When I started exploring such music in my late teens, I listened to Pierrot Lunaire many many times. Recently I looked up a performance on KZbin after years without hearing it--and it was as amazing as ever. I still remember the time I sat in the music library and listened to the First Chamber Symphony over and over. I was a big fan. I will confess, though, as for his popular piece, Verklärte Nacht, as gorgeous and atmospheric as it is, I've never really taken to it. I think this is a shortcoming on my part. Looking forward to the video on Pierrot.

[@DeflatingAtheism]

Both Chamber Symphonies are absolute masterpieces, IMO. The first has what might be my absolute favorite ending to any classical piece of music ever.

[@ignaziomorabito308]

Great vid. I will always think of schoenberg as a composer applying developing variation just to a higher level, every small gesture is immediately established and demands development

[@EmanuelGaldr]

I love your tapestry! Thanks for the video!

[@lukegregg5944]

Lovely. video Samnuel, hope you're well.

[@suginami123]

Excellent. Superb. Just what I needed. Thank you.

[@jl9205]

A very interesting and informative presentation. Thank you for sharing these insights.

[@christophersurnname9967]

Excellent video. Hope you make more soon.

[@bodymindsoulcandy]

Very beautiful and really understandable analysis! I played the very beautiful pieces for piano opus 11, by hearth, when I studied the pîano with André De Groote at the Brussels Conservatory, between 1987 and 1990. II will study them again, by heart, as I did during my studies also with the sonata opus 1 from Alban Berg, which I will study also again. I will also study the Variations by Webern. I played the celesta in the Five pieces for orchestra, conducted by Antonio Pappano, with the orchestra of la Monnaie from Brussels. I played with them for about eleven years. Now, I am handicapped: in 2011 I underwent a severe brain thrombosis, went into coma for ten days, and came out of it, unable to move. I even forgot that my parents where already dead (my mother died in 2001 and my father in 2009), and that I bought a house with my girlfriend, in 2008. I heard the Gurrelieder twice in the Brussels concert hall; I heard also Wozzeck two times and for Lulu I went to a four days during seminar at la Monnaie in Brussels. I heard this opera, three or four times, two times with Teresa Stratas. I think roll Wozzeck's Marie in one the two productions was sung by Anja Silja, with whom I played the celesta in "The Makropolous Affair" by Janacek, conducted by Peter Eötvös. Now I am feeling really a lot better: the time I spent on the couch, watching the television, and from time to time studying the piano (in the beginning against my will. It was my girlfriend who obliged me to study the piano, and now I am very grateful to her for doing this!!!) made inspired enough to play my own compositions, classical, and to improvise in the jazz and rock-styles, and more ethnic styles. You will hear from me: I'm about to write an opera upon "The Tempest" by Shakespeare. I hope to read your answer. Goodbye, Samuel.

[@ferguscullen8451]

13 minutes into a 10-minute explainer on Schoenberg: "We haven't really talked a lot about serialism"...! Great stuff.

[@clausoreskov1768]

A wonderful introduction to a great work. I live 3-4 kilometers from Gurre Castle (today a ruin) which I visit every summer. It always inspires me to listen to Gurrelieder when I get home and what you say about Gurrelieder confirms the topicality of this music and its distinctive sound

[@mruberduck]

Fantastic video, Samuel!

[@cflatminor594]

I had only been listening to classical music a few years when I stumbled on Pollinis Lps on 20 th C Piano. And although Schoenbergs music takes time *like any worthwhile friendship?) and is alternately off putting and alluring, I immediately fell in love with it. In this video the parts about how he developed from tradition and the part around 9.33 were especially illuminating. Seeing *and hearing ( Nureyev in Pierrot Lunnarie is an experience I will never forget. Few composers can mix and shift so mercurially in mood *MIngus comes almost close. THANK YOU!

[@chrisgainmusic]

Brilliant overview. Schoenberg sounds like a creative genius... I’m curious to check out those compositions you recommended.

[@juddhamilton3053]

I enjoy your exposition very much.

[@julieherz8909]

Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou is another person to check out, from the same period, who displayed unstructured musical genius

[@christopheboucher3737]

Holy hell what an amazing video that was, subscribed!

[@luxinveritate3365]

Awesome video, love the music of Arnold. Have his Harmony, composition, and structural functions texts.

[@yaodongzhang5898]

Just saw this video, glad you mentioned his violin concerto as a recommendation in the end of the video! Perhaps you could make an analysis of this piece as well? :)

[@machida5114]

Piano concerto is also good.

[@TeganKosterProject]

Great video. Thankyou for your insights.

[@LukeCorradine]

Verklarte Nacht opened the door to Shoenberg for me at age 15. I love his music (although not all of it...) You are absolutely spot on about the contradictory nature of the man, and the lack of repetition as a challenge that not everybody is happy to take. Great review. Thank you!

[@pida689]

Thank you very much for your explanation, very interesting and well explained

[@TommyHoppeArt]

That was very well put. I wish you had mentioned how he was close friends with Kandinsky. I won’t go into details but if you have not read the work of Kandinsky, I recommend you do. “Concerning the Spiritual in Art” is a good starting point. Thanks again.

[@timm6892]

This was a great video, with no fluff or nonsense-just right to the point and everything I wanted to know. I just added all the recommended pieces to my Apple Music and I will have a blast tonight listening to them. Thank you so much. I’m hitting the like/subscribe buttons right now

[@samuel_andreyev]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@samuel_andreyev]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@HariMusicZone]

Thanks a lot for the detailed introduction to Schoenberg... 🙏

[@frederickhoward3902]

Thank you for a wonderful Lecture.

[@63striker]

Outstanding commentary!

[@Knowrud]

Well spoken and informative.

[@lbogarde]

Thank you for this lecture!

[@Gregoryzaniz]

Really excellent video. You are a better speaker than most I have heard on KZbin

[@samuel_andreyev]

Thank you, that’s very kind

[@2rbzero]

Hello Samuel, Loved the video! Your mouth sounds a bit dry in this one but the content, as always, is fantastic. I've look forward to the upcoming analysis! I like that you used the term "expressionist" to describe Schoenberg as an artist at the end of the video. I recently watched a lecture on Glenn Gould's channel where he briefly mentioned that there were many parallels between the careers of Schoenberg and Wassily Kandinsky. As a longtime admirer of Feininger, Klee, Kandinsky, and several other German Expressionist painters, that comparison really struck a chord for me. I only began listening to and developing an appreciation for the music of the Second Viennese School over the last couple years (thanks in no small part to your channel!), and I never thought to connect the two movements until I heard that comment from Gould, but now that I've have I see it AND hear it and have developed an even deeper appreciation for both. Thank you for your wonderful content and for introducing me to so much beautiful music. I would be honored to support your channel. (Speaking of supporting, what is that piece with the bass clarinet that plays at the very end when you mention Patreon?)

[@jesusmuriel7036]

thank you, also where did you get your tapestry behind you inthe video ! i love the dame of the licorne. thank you

[@JamesAdams-ev6fc]

I am beginning to see what you are saying about Schoenberg, and I enjoyed watching your video immensely. I shall follow your advice and listen repeatedly to a few works. I have always found Schoenberg disconcerting, but then again my favorite composer is Haydn. Thanks for opening up my mind.

[@jgrab1]

This is a great lecture. Thanks.

[@cree8vision]

I've listened to Violin Concerto Op. 36 and I absolutely love it.

[@milicailijic1063]

Nice one, Samuel!

[@AstroComposerKarE]

Great analysis!

[@craigbrush5784]

Last Saturday I went to a performance of Gurrelieder with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, at the Sydney Opera House, the first time it has been performed in Australia. It was amazing. And surprisingly accessible. Loved it.

[@paolopellegrino9915]

others works that hasn't been advised that i love: Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op .9 wich is sort of middle ground and Variations for orchestra op. 31

[@jeandenisrosellidellarover4238]

Op. 31 is quite amazing

[@ryguillian]

Really interesting commentary.

[@mcmedia7303]

look a lot like a musician with glasses on! thanks for a great intro to a great composer in 20 th century!!

[@canticuscanticus3149]

Which recording of the Gurrelieder comes with English translation of the lyrics? I like a lot of what I've heard from Schoenberg.

[@dpmalfatti]

Excellent video!

[@newsungsails3651]

I read in the memoir of Philip Glass, Words Without Music, that as a young man before going to Julliard he was deeply influenced by Schoenberg’s book on harmony and tonality, which is interesting given the harmonic richness and consonance of the music he would go on to make.

[@newsungsails3651]

Oh and if you want to go further with his music, there is a great conversation between Glenn Gould and Howard Burton on Schoenberg, and Gould’s recordings of the piano music is incredible.

[@davewallace1209]

Not harmonically trite, then? Perhaps I am missing something?

[@rjsweda]

very nice, i had never heard of schoenberg. thanks

[@ryanschrock2639]

Many of your comments echo thoughts that I've had on Lachenmann. I wonder if you have heard much of his work and what you think of him. He seems to me to be the current Schoenberg in that he's working in and innovating the same Germanic tradition, and as well for his major contribution. Would you do a video on Lachenmann's music?

[@samuel_andreyev]

Hi Ryan, I've already analyzed Lachenmann's 2nd String Quartet (albeit, not for this channel). I'll definitely do a video on him, hopefully soon. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@nellind1]

Very interesting! And could you parhaps say, what do you think of the "Basics of Music Composition" (not sure about the exact name) that Schoenberg wrote? Would you recommend it?

[@kinohaitsma9310]

Great content!

[@ExtrackterYT]

A video about Schönberg that didn't mentioned "Verklärte nacht" (that I noticed)... well, I *never* !

[@jeandenisrosellidellarover4238]

It isn't an important work, schoenberg was very young when he wrote it

[@louduva9849]

@@jeandenisrosellidellarover4238 It's the only piece of his I like.

[@fstover5208]

Good general overview.

[@avax9678]

I have never subscribed so fast to any channel.

[@peterwu831]

Music in classical sense had structures, and thus the “familiarities” in melody, rhythm, and harmony, and orchestral musicians since Schoenberg have attempted to show that all can be “diluted” towards a state of randomness, while popular musicians tried to “condense” all and “overly emphasize” their “dried up” rhythms, music expressions aside in both cases. Classical Chinese poetry had three, five, and seven characters in each phrase, and then was developed into more “dynamic” structures. Many, however, have survived hundreds of years. The current poems are racing into more “randomness”, with fewer and fewer being stuck in literature, for a decade.

[@alhfgsp]

It's possible to understand his musical structures and respect his craft whilst not enjoying it. I prefer the tonality of Baroque, Classical, and Romantic era music, even though his is still an interesting study in harmony. I appreciate your analysis.

[@Recolation]

Adding on to Andreyev's nicely done introduction here, for anyone else wanting to know more about the man, there's a very good BBC programme, assembled by Hans Keller, which features many of Schoenberg's close associates, students, etc. to discuss their perspective on him: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKXPqaucjciLiJI

[@mraillard]

My essential Schoenberg pieces: String Trio, Opus 45 Suite, Opus 29

[@machida5114]

String Trio, Opus 45 !!! Suite, Opus 29 ???

[@pikeywyatt]

i shall will all ways listen.

[@allesvergaengliche]

I apologize if I missed the reference. What is this book on tonality you refer to? Is it his Harmonielehre? I'm curious to read it. Excellent video. Thank you.

[@samuel_andreyev]

Yes, it's the Harmonielehre.

[@allesvergaengliche]

Samuel Andreyev Thanks! I am completely obsessed with Schoenberg lately. I think it's fascinating that he has worked in at least 4 "mature" periods or styles of composition, all of immense value. He was a bit of a tough nut to crack (compared to Webern, who was love at first sight for me), but he was one of the all-time greats.

[@bradipo3582]

Have you ever listened to Yowie? I don't know if they are atonal but they're the weirdest math rock-ish avant-garde band I've heard in the 2000s. Maybe say something about them in a Q&A, idk.

[@reynaldoestenos]

I was able to recognize a lot of The Beatles frases in some of Schoenberg work that was a strange mystery to me .. I really don’t think that is a coincidence but for example you can hear the main theme of Eleonor Rigby or The long and winding road progression changes etc … It is that or I am becoming absolutely crazy .. listening to this great composer .!!

[@thomasvendetti3742]

I am a music lover without any technical schooling whatever! I heartily agree that Schoenberg’s music ought to given repeated listenings. And I also agree that much of his music is impressionistic and emotional. I am a New Englander. I enjoy the color of fall leaves blowing in the wind. On the surface, it appears to be disorganized and without the natural organization that I appreciate in the natural settings I encounter. And yet the blowing leaves is so beautiful, full of color and motion. The Variations for Orchestra has these qualities. After many listenings, it is as it should be…beautiful, colorful, stunning, filled with motion, just like those blowing fall leaves I love each year.

[@charleslyall5857]

An introduction is great. To explain his music (in ten minutes) is perhaps stretching it. Books and books have been written on Schoenberg trying to explain his methods. The 'Five Pieces for Orchestra) is a sonic masterpiece........hearing it explains it better than describing it with words. Certainly not grasping it with verbal descriptions.

[@oclictis1]

it'd be nice if in the description you put links to the pieces that you recommend!

[@samuel_andreyev]

I'll do that. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@KKolbet]

I'm sure you know about Oskar Sala. I'm wondering about any relations between him and Schoenberg, directly or indirectly. Great video!

[@idnemgk]

Thank you so much for this, Samuel! I'll share some of my favorite Shoenberg pieces: Das Buch der hangenden Garten Op 15 (a series of short voice and piano pieces, each of which seem to have a very well realized arc to them with a sense of resolution, yet without sounding at all related to any kind of diatonic harmony), Serenade Op24 (parts of which I actually hear as having a wonderful sense of humor - I wonder if that is just me?), String Quartet #4 Op 37 (very challenging but well worth it - amazing melodic and contrapuntal content, and a kind of hamonic motion - though not "tonal" - that I really enjoy), and the Piano Concerto Op 42 (parts of which I find incredibly beautiful with a wonderful rhythmic drive).

[@samuel_andreyev]

I like almost everything. Not a big fan of the piano concerto though -- I find the orchestral variations more compelling.

[@machida5114]

@@samuel_andreyev why you are not a big fan of the piano concerto?

[@margotsamarra5920]

you look like an older Brandon Flowers, look em up. great video, it helped me with my music class. thx!

[@samuel_andreyev]

Brandon Flowers and I are the same age but thanks anyway I guess

[@benjaminbeam5273]

I didn't know Jim Carey knew so much about Schoenberg.

[@kevinhay7073]

Theory Of Harmony is my favorite book.OK maybe Catch-22.My high school music theory teacher played us Perrot Lunaire as an example of something completely out the window.I freaked out because it sounded like one step past my favorite King Crimson album Starless And Bible Black.Simon Rattle's Gurrelieder is the bomb!

[@samuel_andreyev]

Simon Rattle ❤😻👏

[@robertmassucci1]

is multiply listening sessions almost the same as making the music repeat within the piece. The mind becomes familiar with the elements of the work as a whole the repetition is in the multiple listening sessions. Like with reading, the reader is not passive. one participates in processing the composition in the brain. Im thinking, by listening multiple times the piece repeats as a whole. The memories of the prior exposure are familiar even if the smaller elements within do not. The mind is fascinating.

[@joeampolo42]

From 11:35 "something new about to be born ..." The historical processes that brought the world Schoenberg also brought WWI , WWII, and a certain Chancellor. Celebrating dissonance? Plato's story about Atlantis might be instructive.

[@sergeyvolkov5384]

Bonjour, Samuel! Merci beaucoup pour vos videos! C’est très important ce que vous fêtes. Est-ce que vous trouverez raisonnable de discuter un peu les compositeurs vivant qui sont au sommet de leurs capacités productrices comme par exemple Thomas Adès, Judith Wire, Leonid Desyatnikov? Sont-ils intéressants pour vous? Sinon, quels compositeurs contemporains vous aimez plus? Merci. Sergey Volkov Paris

[@samuel_andreyev]

Bonjour, bien sûr que ça serait raisonnable. Mais ça peut être compliqué pour moi d'être objectif dans le cadre d'une vidéo d'analyse car de nombreux compositeurs contemporains sont des amis à moi.

[@benjaminniemczyk]

I can sense and appreciate Mr. Andreyev's passion for Schoenberg, but it sounds like he is reciting the various textbooks on the composer. All the key words and phrases are there: misunderstood, contradiction, modern music, unresolved dissonances, etc. All one needs to do is listen to the music. After that, read the composer's own textbooks (if you have a chunk of time). They are not useless pedagogically. They were, in fact, in use when I was in university, and my understanding of basic tonal harmony is rooted in them. If one does not want to read the giant book on harmony, there are abridged versions under different titles. Or, one can visit the museum in Vienna (and his grave!) which gives an even deeper look. View the paintings. They also provoke greater understanding. Schoenberg is understood to the extent a composer can by those who want to take the time to do so. It is subjective, of course. I think perhaps many people just do not like the sound of post-tonal Schoenberg, which is why his music is not performed much in the US. But in Europe, it is there to a healthy degree. One final thing: the pronunciation of Pierrot lunaire is not quite there, and what I tell the singers I work with, is: just pronounce the word as an American would but sing it as a French person would.

[@CentrifugalSatzClock]

Survivor from Warsaw. He got up for that challenge.

[@gabrielcarpio5843]

So glad you mentioned Gurrelieder

[@paxwallacejazz]

If you read the comments in my Bernstein excerpts you can see how very polarizing Schoenberg is. They are surprisingly heavily watched.

[@xydex99]

Nice one

[@vhollund]

One of the most important things I've learned from Schoenbergs teachings, about tonality, is the importance of repetition He does underline the importance of repetition so that even through the most atonal non functional harmonic material there is something logically recognisable be it in terms of intervallic structure or rhythm

[@samuel_andreyev]

Yes, but it's not really repetition, it's variation (this notion stems from Brahms' music)

[@muntius8680]

Thanks!

[@lmnk]

Barely understood anything, but it was interesting to listen. Thanks!

[@Slarti]

Very interesting. I studied classical guitar and loved and still love listening to Bach. Then when I started listening to Mozart I noticed that he introduced "wrong notes". But it was because I was so used to J. S. Bach that I saw these as "wrong notes". So even Mozart broke some of the previous rules.

[@machida5114]

he introduced "good new notes".

[@Whatismusic123]

mozart was a student of haydn, and alot of what mozart writes is similar to haydn, including the "wrong notes" back then there were rules, and if you wanted to change a rule, you had to make a new rule to replace it