Schoenberg's situation

Analysis last week consisted of the first movement of Johannes Brahms' third Piano Trio (Op. 101). For inspiration I was directed to the famous essay by Arnold Schoenberg, 'Brahms the Progressive'. Though the essay itself was fascinating - and certainly helped with the task in hand - it was to another of Schoenberg's essays that I was drawn to: the 'Two Speeches on the Jewish Situation'.

Dating from 1934 and 1935 respectively, they give a good idea of Schoenberg's approach to assimilation: namely that Jews should escape to America. What is most fascinating, however, is the section at the start of the later speech on the experience of being a young Jewish composer in 1890s/1900s Vienna. Schoenberg notes the very real impact that Richard Wagner's tract had on not only the reception but also the self-confidence of him and his contemporaries.

This psychological barrier to success is far-less cited than the physical. Though Schoenberg and many other Jewish composers were deeply influenced by Wagner, it seems unlikely that they could overcome this barrier without escaping Wagner-dominated space. I guess this is one of many reasons why Schoenberg found it necessary to move to the USA; another of the essays, 'Gustav Mahler: In Memoriam', outlines the detrimental effects of trying to assimilate.

Perhaps this is a reason why Schoenberg wrote so defensively of Brahms; the latter's inherent cultural opposition to Wagner afforded the former somewhat of a fightback against Wagner's ideological hegemony.


Bibliography:
Schoenberg, A., Stein, L., Black, L., & Auner, J. (2010). Style and idea : Selected writings of Arnold Schoenberg (60th anniversary ed.). Berkeley.

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