# Arnold Schoenberg



## deprofundis (Apr 25, 2014)

I preffer is lieder and chamber music more than is orchestral work. i bought the pierrot lunaire at first i hated it, but eventually it got Under my skin and i started to like it.I would not says he is my favorite composer of that era but some of is work very interresting.

A lot of people i know that love classic hate him and find him borring , maybe there right on some of is works, but i heard interresting stuff by him so...what is your personnal view on him.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Well, Schoenberg didn't write all that many pieces for full orchestra alone. This was partially because of the relative lack of commissions, and partially because from a very early age, his mind tended to think in terms of small ensembles (even within the larger works he, like Mahler, separates off tiny groups of instruments frequently).

_Pelleas und Mellisande_ is a rich, Straussian tone poem. Beautiful and rich, if a bit overstuffed at times.
The _Five Orchestral Pieces_ are terse miniatures with a wide variety of moods and colors. Along with The Rite of Spring, these laid the template for a lot of modern orchestral writing.
The _Variations for Orchestra_ is a counterpart to the opera Moses und Aron, dating from around the same time. Like that work, it shows its composer fully in control of his new methods. One can almost distinguish between the darker-hued "Moses" variations and the more lithe "Aron" ones.

Later on, you have the two concertos, for violin and piano respectively.
The _Violin Concerto_ was one of the last pieces he worked on in Berlin before he was forced to come to the US. It's a bold, dramatic work, but absurdly demanding on its soloist, which is one reason why it's taken a while to catch on.
The _Piano Concerto_, written in the US, has enjoyed more popularity. It has its dramatic elements as well, but a bit more grace and humor too.


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