The Vienna Trinity
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Under severe restrictions, growing Anti-Semitism and threats of deportation, Berg, Schoenberg and Webern along with many other professional musicians and music scholars found refuge in Vienna, which was still reasonably free in academics and humanities. They continued practicing their 'illegal contraband' of Contemporary Music in Austria until the Anschluss in 1938. As Hitler's troops poured over the Austrian borders, the nightmare began anew, only more viscious than ever before. Schoenberg made his aliyah to America, escaping deportation to the Killing Centers of Europe. He continued to teach until his death , contributing prominently to 20th century Music Theory and Composition. Berg, physically ill with asthma and failing health since 1908, which was exacerbated by expatriation and flight from the Nazis, died of blood poisoning in 1935, leaving behind a rich legacy of works incorporating atonality and more traditional form. Von Webern suffered more of Nazi oppression than his counterparts: Schoenberg fled to America, and Berg his friend died. With the Anschluss as the Nazis again began to exert control in Austria, Webern was left without an academic appointment. In 1945 shortly after his son was killed, the Russians and US troops advanced, and Webern and his wife escaped to join family members in a smaller town. His life ended tragically having escaped death at the hands of the Nazis, only to be accidentally shot in mistaken identity, while smoking, by an American soldier. The three carried such a reputation for experiment and innovation in Art, that they were considered "the second Viennese School", the first being: Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Only Schoenberg continued the legacy in freedom.
2The Dynamics of 12-Tone-Row © 2003 Elizabeth Kirkley Best PhD; Shoah Education Project-Web |
Alone in his office in 1933, Schoenberg, a consummate Jewish composer and musician
must have pondered over the new regulations regarding Music in the Third Reich. Schoenberg and
his students/ colleagues, Berg and Webern, were on the cutting edge of contemporary 20th century
music: he is known still for his experimentation with the "12-tone row" or concepts of "atonality"
in which mathematical patterns and use of tone color are used to create musical textures. His work
was revolutionary and his students carried on variations of his approach. As Hitler entered
the highest offices of the Land, though, Schoenberg with many other artists was declared
"degenerate" and "bolshevik"; the Wagner-loving Fuhrer distaining all but the most nationalistic,
traditional styles and forms of music. Jewish music especially was disdained in all forms: contemporary
atonal music, along with many other forms was banned from public performance. All Jewish Music
Professors, Conductors, Musicians and so forth were removed from their University positions and positions
in State Opera and Symphony Houses. Music became a clandestine operation to Jewish Musicians of
Berlin and Munich: "illegal" performances were rendered in homes on weekend afternoons, with secret
practices.