Arnold Schoenberg: References & Edit History

Josef Rufer, The Works of Arnold Schoenberg (1962), a catalog of Schoenberg’s compositions, writings, and paintings, lists both published and unpublished materials. Dika Newlin, Bruckner–Mahler–Schoenberg, rev. ed. (1978), a standard work, is the first study in English of the relationship between these composers, and Schoenberg Remembered: Diaries and Recollections, (1938–76) (1980), is a memoir. Egon Wellesz, Arnold Schoenberg, trans. from German by W.H. Kerridge (1925, reprinted 1971), the first biography of the composer, covers his works through 1923 (the first 12-tone compositions), but it must be used with caution because of many mistakes in translation. H.H. Stuckenschmidt, Arnold Schoenberg, trans. by Edith Temple Roberts and Humphrey Searle (1959, reprinted 1979; originally published in German), is sketchy, but it is the first biography to cover Schoenberg’s entire life. Willi Reich, Schoenberg: A Critical Biography, trans. by Leo Black (1971, reprinted 1981; originally published in German), has no musical examples but is especially rich in citations of contemporary documents. René Leibowitz, Schoenberg and His School (1949, reprinted 1975), introduced French readers to the music of the Neo-Viennese School. Charles Rosen, Arnold Schoenberg (1975, reissued 1981), is a lucid analysis of his music for the general reader. Karl H. Worner, Schoenberg’s “Moses and Aaron” (1963), is a thorough study of both the musical and philosophical-theological aspects.

Later books of particular interest to the general reader are Walter B. Bailey (ed.), The Arnold Schoenberg Companion (1998); Walter Frisch (ed.), Schoenberg and His World (1999); Allen Shawn, Arnold Schoenberg’s Journey (2002); Joseph Auner, A Schoenberg Reader: Documents of a Life (2003); Malcolm MacDonald, Schoenberg, 2nd ed. (2008); and Bojan Bujić, Arnold Schoenberg (2011).

More-narrow examinations of the composer include Sabine Feisst, Schoenberg’s New World: The American Years (2011), which examines his years in the United States; Juliane Brand and Christopher Hailey (eds.), Constructive Dissonance: Arnold Schoenberg and the Transformations of Twentieth-Century Culture (1997), which takes an interdisciplinary approach; Colin C. Sterne, Arnold Schoenberg: The Composer as Numerologist (1993), which has an introduction by composer John Cage; and Bryan R. Simms, The Atonal music of Arnold Schoenberg, 1908–1923 (2000), which examines the crucial 15-year period of Schoenberg’s career.