Artists, scientists and architects characterized Vienna around 1900. They didn't shy away from trying new and unconventional ways and breaking with tradition.

Twelve tones and scandals

One of these revolutionary lateral-thinking teases was Arnold Schönberg (1874 Vienna – 1951 Los Angeles), who radically developed the art of composing through the use of atonality and the twelve-tone technique. His new music was hotly disputed. Frequently mentioned, for example, is the famous scandalous concert at the Musikverein in 1913, which resulted in fisticuffs and consequently also went down in history as the "Slapping Concert". In Vienna, fans of music can learn about Schönberg, his ideas and creations; in particular, Schönbergians will find a unique wealth of musical manuscripts, writings, correspondence and scientific materials.

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Paradise for fans of Schönberg

The Arnold Schönberg Center manages the estate of Viennese Modernism's famous composer. He was also a music theorist, poet, inventor and painter. On show are exhibitions of his life and work, a selection of his artistic creations and the authentically detailed replica of his study in Los Angeles. In a video, Schönberg's daughter Nuria explains the relationship her father had to the personal objects and creations in the room.

The library of the Arnold Schönberg Center has lots on the topic of the "Viennese School of Modernism" - including the group of composers that formed around Arnold Schönberg in Vienna at the beginning of the 20th century. Important protagonists were Schönberg's pupils Alban Berg and Anton Webern. Their influence on the development of New Music was immense.

Is it not the duty of every artist
to tell your what you do not know,
what you never have heard before,
what you never could find out
or discover or express yourself?

(Arnold Schönberg: What Have People to Expect from Music, 1935)

The archive, which is also open to the public, has around 20,000 pages of music and text manuscripts as well as diaries, concert programs, instruments and much more besides. Amongst the 3,500 photographs: Man Ray's Schönberg portrait, shots with Alban Berg, Anton Webern, Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin.

Since 13 September 2020, the 146th birthday of the universal artist Arnold Schönberg, the Arnold Schloenberg Center has been providing insights into the collection's holdings with a series of over 160 objects on Google Arts & Culture.

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Schönberg in the House of Music

Vienna's unique museum of sound, the House of Music, dedicates a whole floor to the grand masters: Joseph Haydn, W. A. Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johann Strauss, Gustav Mahler as well as the founders of the Second Viennese School: Arnold Schönberg, Alban Berg and Anton Webern. A multivision system shows each composer in his personal and social setting - with chronologies, touchscreens and historic instruments.

Arnold Schönberg's grave of honor at Vienna's Central Cemetery (Group 32 C Number 21A) was designed by Fritz Wotruba.