Schoenberg the sentimentalist?

Richard D. Russell — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:04:28 +0000

I’m reading Howard Gardner’s influential book on multiple intelligences, Frames of Mind. Gardner adds this quote from Arnold Schoenberg, “hardly known for his sentimentality”:

Music is a succession of tones and tone combinations so organized as to have an agreeable impression on the ear and its impression on the intelligence is comprehensible…These impressions have the power to influence occult parts of our soul and our our sentimental spheres…

Arnold Schoenberg

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In Memoriam: Robert K. Hoffman

Richard D. Russell — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 22:57:00 +0000

I read in the paper today that the founding editor of the National Lampoon, one of my favorite magazines from way back when, has just passed away. In his New York Times obituary, we learn that after he made his money in publishing, he became a collector of fine art. In fact, he called art “the only effective method to travel and connect across time and space.”

What an interesting concept! But isn’t it true? Don’t we connect to Mozart’s age by hearing one of his symphonies? Don’t we get a sense of the confusion and disarray of early 20th Century Europe by hearing a Schoenberg string quartet? And what about negro spirituals? How about the jazz age music of Cole Porter?

And I wonder: How is the music we compose today reflective of our “time and space”? Is classical music adequate? Or must we look to popular music as being more representative?

In 100 years, what music will be listened to to reflect the “time and space” of the early 2000s?

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Richard D. Russell » Schoenberg

Schoenberg the sentimentalist?

In Memoriam: Robert K. Hoffman