Who was Arnold Schönberg?

Profile of the conservative revolutionary

Arnold Schönberg Center

Arnold Schönberg Center

Arnold Schönberg (1924) by Atelier Schlosser & WenischArnold Schönberg Center

Arnold Schönberg
Composer, writer, painter ...

... theoretician, teacher, leading figure of the Viennese School ...

Arnold Schönberg: Streichquartett Nr. 3, op. 30, Intermezzo | Allegro moderato | Kolisch-Quartett, 1936 | Arnold Schönberg Center, Wien
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... pioneer of the twelve-tone method, benchmark in recent music history.

Piano Piece, op. 19/6 (1911-06-17) by Arnold SchönbergArnold Schönberg Center

Sechs kleine Klavierstücke op. 19/6 | Eduard Steuermann | Columbia Masterworks, 1957 | Kopie des Masterbands | Arnold Schönberg Center, Wien
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“The conviction that I have written nothing that I should be ashamed of forms the foundation of my moral existence.” (Arnold Schönberg, 1931)

Arnold Schönberg (1912) by Hugo ErfurthArnold Schönberg Center

Arnold Avraham Schönberg

Born
September 13, 1874 in Vienna

Died
July 13, 1951 in Los Angeles (aged 76)

Pauline Schönberg (1911) by H. v. SchmidtArnold Schönberg Center

Mother
Pauline Schönberg, née Nachod (1848, Prague–1921, Berlin)

Samuel Schönberg (1870/1880) by M. MachaćArnold Schönberg Center

Father
Samuel Schönberg (1838, Szécsény–1889, Vienna)

Ottilie Schönberg, Pauline Schönberg, Arnold Schönberg (1879) by Atelier MatznerArnold Schönberg Center

Siblings
Adele Feigele (1872, Vienna–1874, Vienna)
Ottilie Leah Sara (1876, Vienna–1954, Berlin)
Heinrich Israel (1882, Vienna–1941, Salzburg)

Arnold Schönberg’s passport (1933-04-29) by Czechoslovakian Consulate BerlinArnold Schönberg Center

Nationality
Hungary (1874)
Czechoslovakia (1918)
United States of America (1941)

First language
German

Foreign languages
French, English

Arnold Schönberg and Judaism (2015) by Arnold Schönberg CenterArnold Schönberg Center

Religion
Mosaic (1874, 1933)
Protestant (1898, baptized as Franz Walter)

Arnold Schönberg’s school certificate (1886-07-06) by Wilhelm KukulaArnold Schönberg Center

Education
Primary school for boys: Bürgerschule für Knaben (Kleine Pfarrgasse 33, Vienna, 1880–1885)
Secondary school: k. k. Staats-Oberrealschule (Vereinsgasse 21, Vienna, 1885–1891)

Arnold Schoenberg at the University of Southern California (1935) by University of Southern CaliforniaArnold Schönberg Center

Employers
Bankhaus Werner & Co. (Vienna, 1891–1895)
Buntes Theater Ueberbrettl G.m.b.H. (Berlin, 1901–1902)
Stern’sches Konservatorium (Berlin, 1902–1903)
Akademie der Künste (Berlin, 1926–1933)
Malkin Conservatory (Boston, New York, 1933–1934)
University of Southern California (Los Angeles, 1935–1936)
University of California at Los Angeles (1936–1944)

Mathilde, Arnold Schönberg, Georg and Gertrude Schönberg (1907) by Heinrich SchönbergArnold Schönberg Center

Marriage (1901)
Mathilde von Zemlinsky (1877, Vienna–1923, Vienna)

Children
Gertrude (1902, Berlin–1947, New York)
Georg Wilhelm (1906, Vienna–1974, Mödling)

Lawrence, Arnold, Gertrud, Nuria and Ronald Schoenberg (1948) by Richard FishArnold Schönberg Center

Marriage (1924)
Gertrud Bertha Kolisch (1898, Karlsbad–1967, Los Angeles)

Children
Nuria Dorothea (b. 1932, Barcelona)
Rudolf Ronald (b. 1937, Los Angeles)
Lawrence Adam (b. 1941, Los Angeles)

Arnold Schönberg’s calendar (1935) by Arnold SchönbergArnold Schönberg Center

Zodiac sign
Virgo

Eyes
Brown

Hair
Black

Height
5 ft. 3 1/2 in

Weight
135 lb (1935)

Shoe size
US 7 EEE

Arnold Schönberg plays tennis (1928) by Anonymous photographerArnold Schönberg Center

Sports
Tennis, table tennis, rowing, swimming

Arnold Schönberg, Witz, Gertrud Schönberg (1928) by Maria KolischArnold Schönberg Center

Pets
Dogs, rabbits, cats

Arnold Schönberg’s car (1937)Arnold Schönberg Center

Cars
Ford, LaSalle

Hobbies
Bookbinding, arts & crafts

Perfume
Kniže Ten

Trivia
Triskaidekaphobic, smoker

At Midnight - First written copy (1901/1902) by Gustav Mahler (Text: Friedrich Rückert)Arnold Schönberg Center

Favorite composers
Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler, Richard Heuberger, Giacomo Puccini, George Gershwin

Satire (Karl Kraus – The Great Wall of China) (1910) by Arnold SchönbergArnold Schönberg Center

Favorite author
Karl Kraus

Favorite philosopher
Arthur Schopenhauer

Favorite painter
Gustav Klimt

Favorite architect
Adolf Loos

Gurre-Lieder - Behold the Sun (1900/1911) by Arnold SchönbergArnold Schönberg Center

Shortest composition
Piano Piece op. 19/4 (20 sec.)

Longest composition
Gurre-Lieder (110 min.)

First composition
Birthday March, 1882

Last composition
I got an A in arithmetic (fragment), 1951

Green Self-Portrait (1910-10-23) by Arnold SchönbergArnold Schönberg Center

“I write what I feel in my heart – and what finally comes on paper is what first coursed through every fiber of my body.” (Arnold Schönberg, 1937)

Credits: Story

Curator
Therese Muxeneder

Film
Christoph Edtmayr

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

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