While in America, Arnold Schoenberg was a prolific teacher, composer, theoretician, and much more. He was incredibly influential in the development of serialistic and twelve-tone music in the United States. In addition, Schoenberg’s philosophy on teaching was one to be admired. He worked very hard to ensure that students had adequate resources, specifically textbooks. This essay will focus chronologically on the educational contributions of Schoenberg’s textbooks while in the United States of America.
Our story of Schoenberg’s time in America begins in September 1933 when Joseph Malkin, American cellist and founder of the Malkin Conservatory in Boston, contacted him with an offer: to teach at his private conservatory. Schoenberg accepted and shortly moved to the United States, arriving on October 31, 1933. His first year in America was incredibly difficult as he faced three large problems: poor health, communication in a foreign language, and an unfavorable teaching schedule.
In order to increase his amount of students during the first year, Schoenberg chose to also take on students in New York, for which he traveled over five hours each way on a weekly basis. In a letter to his former student, Webern, Schoenberg reflects on this weekly trip:
“The most annoying thing is the weekly trip to New York. I give only 4-5 lessons, but it takes a long time getting there. Everyone with whom I have spoken has told me they don’t know how I have kept it up. . . . I leave every Sunday at 5:00 PM, arrive at the hotel at 10:45, teach on Monday from 9:30 to 12:00 and 2:00 to 4:00 (during my lunch break people always “have to” talk with you), then travel back at 4:30, arriving home at 10:00. This may not sound as bad as it really is...
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...al Music Association 100 (1973-1974): 85-96.
Rubsamen, Walter H. “Schoenberg in America.” The Musical Quarterly 37, no. 4 (October 1951): 469-489.
Schoenberg, Arnold and Gerald Strang, ed. Fundamentals of Musical Composition. London: Faber, 1967.
Schoenberg, Arnold and Leonard Stein, ed. Models for Beginners in Composition; Syllabus, Music Examples, and Glossary. Los Angeles, Belmont Music Publishers, 1972.
Schoenberg, Arnold and Leonard Stein, ed. Preliminary Exercises in Counterpoint. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1964.
Schoenberg, Arnold. Structural Functions of Harmony. New York: Norton, 1954.
Schoenberg, Arnold and Robert D. W. Adams, tr. Theory of Harmony. Harmonielehre. New York: Philosophical Library, 1948.
Simms, Bryan R., ed. Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern: A Companion to the Second Viennese School. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1999.
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie, 20 vols. (London: Macmillan, 1980)9: 708-709
Nearly a century’s worth of compositions has earned Aaron Copland extensive recognition as the foremost American composer of his time. Ironically, Copland was raised the son of Russian Jewish immigrants and inhabitant of a colorless city environment, yet would become known for producing the music of “rugged-souled Americans” (Mellers 4). Unbounded by historical musical constraints such as those present in the culture of France, where Copland studied for many years, Copland found himself free to explore and experiment in pursuit of a unique, undoubtedly American sound.
The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, ed. Oscar Thompson, 10th ed. (New York: Dodd, Mead and Co.)1968-1993
This is the second volume of Richard Taruskin's historical work, and it highlights composers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He examines the progression of different styles and eras of music.
When one considers the history of classical music, often images of Vienna, Prague, and other European cities come to mind. Centuries of European musical achievement and development have implanted in society the idea that classical music is an inherently European creation. Considering the accomplishments of countless composers such as J.S. Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Antonin Dvorak, this preconception is certainly not unfounded. However, Leonard Bernstein's rise to international fame proved that one cannot neglect American composers in a discussion of the development of Western music. Combining elements of a vast array of musical styles, Bernstein's unique compositions reached a wide variety of audiences and often bridged gaps between distinct musical genres. Through his long conducting career, profoundly influential compositional output, and televised music lectures, Leonard Bernstein left a lasting legacy which came to define American music in the 20th century.
American Philosophical Quarterly 21, no. 3 (1984): 227-36.
5. William Treat Upton (1967 [reprint]), Anthony Philip Heinrich: A Nineteenth Century Composer in America, New York: AMS Press, pp. 3-4
Arnold, Denis, ed. The New Oxford Companion to Music. Vol. 2. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1983.
Reich, Steve. “Music as a Gradual Process,” Anti-Illusion: Procedures/Materials, ed. James Monte and Marcia Tucker
In their books: Copland: 1900 through 1942 and Copland: Since 1943, Aaron Copland and Vivian Perlis give a detailed account of the life of one of America’s most influential composers. The books are arranged similarly to the Shostakovich biography that our class reviewed earlier this semester. That is, through personal accounts by Copland himself along with accounts of Copland’s friends and acquaintances, the authors manage to paint an accurate and interesting picture detailing the life of the great composer. When combined, the two books recount Copland’s entire life, dividing it into two periods for the purpose of easier organization and reading.
John Warrack, author of 6 Great Composers, stated, “Any study of a composer, however brief, must have as its only purpose encouragement of the reader to greater enjoyment of the music” (Warrack, p.2). The composers and musicians of the Renaissance period need to be discussed and studied so that listeners, performers, and readers can appreciate and understand the beginnings of music theory and form. The reader can also understand the driving force of the composer, whether sacred or secular, popularity or religious growth. To begin understanding music composition one must begin at the birth, or rebirth of music and the composers who created the great change.
Harvard Dictionary of Music [Book] / auth. Apel Willi. - Cambridge : Harvard University Press, 1969.
The second period of time for music is the Renaissance period. During this time frame music was reborn and it went through a lot of changes and the way music was written and understood. In this period of time, the composers were expe...
Roehrs, Walter Robert, and Martin H. Franzmann.Concordia self-study commentary . Saint Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 1979.
Burkeholder, Peter J. et al, A History of Western Music, New York, W.W. Norton & Company Ltd, 2010. 626 -632