Born 150 years ago was Arnold Schönberg, an avant-garde composer whose works have stood the test of time. Before rejecting the old order in the organisation of sounds, he studied it thoroughly, poring over the scores of composers from different eras. He initially wrote in the spirit of late romanticism, also imitating works by past masters. Having penetrated the secrets of composition technique, he eagerly shared his knowledge, teaching generations of composers. Together with his pupils Alban Berg and Anton Webern, he formed the group known today as the Second Vienna School. Schönberg’s greatest achievements include elaborating the principles of twelve-note technique, which abolished the hierarchic relations between notes. During our concert, his early composition Verklärte Nacht will be heard alongside works by representatives of the ‘old’ Vienna School: Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The title and non-musical content of this work draw inspiration from Richard Dehmel’s poem of the same title, representing a difficult conversation between two lovers beneath a starlit sky. Although this work, composed at the end of the Romantic era, does not yet presage Schönberg’s later dodecaphonic achievements, it cannot be denied subtlety and visionary harmonic and expressive solutions.
Bartłomiej Gembicki