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Why did Arnold Schoenberg formally return to Judaism in Paris?
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Arnold Schoenberg
Austrian-American composer Arnold Schoenberg was one of the most influential teachers of music composition of the 20th century. He also was known for his creation of new methods of musical composition involving atonality, namely serialism and the 12-tone row.
Arnold Schoenberg formally returned to the Jewish faith while in Paris in 1933 as a direct response to the rise of National Socialism in Germany.1
Following the Nazi party's ascent to power, which led to the systematic removal of Jewish influence from all areas of German cultural life, Schoenberg was dismissed from his position at the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin. His formal return to Judaismâa faith he had abandoned in his youthâserved as a definitive act of defiance against the antisemitic policies and persecution enforced by the Nazi regime.1