Online exhibition in 50 objects
Presentation of the Idea
Arnold Schönberg
Presentation of the Idea
Manuscript. 12 November 1925
At about the same time that he formulated the basic principles of twelve-tone composition, Arnold Schönberg set to work on a music-theoretical text which, together with numerous other manuscripts and typescripts, was summarized under the title The Musical Idea. A three-page manuscript describes what changes a new pitch system implies for the perception of musical artworks. In “Composition with 12 tones which are related only with one another […] the relationship among the 12 tones is defined once and for all for an entire movement, indeed for an entire piece, and no other relationships can ever arise but those given by the basic idea. The unfolding process of the piece serves to make comprehensible, through frequent repetition and varied presentation, everything that cannot be understood upon first hearing.“
Johann Sebastian Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1
Object 1
Theory of Harmony
Object 2
Chamber Symphony, op. 9
Object 3
String Quartet No. 2, op. 10/iv. Rapture
Object 4
Der Blaue Reiter. Almanac
Object 5
Pierrot lunaire, op. 21
Object 6
Arnold Schönberg in military uniform
Object 7
Symphony
Object 8
Jacob’s Ladder
Object 9
Five Piano Pieces, op. 23/i
Object 10
Serenade, op. 24/iii. Variations
Object 11
Autograph Card with Quote from Gurre-Lieder
Object 12
Suite for Piano, op. 25/i. Prelude
Object 13
Suite for Piano, op. 25/iv. Intermezzo
Object 14
Letter to Alma Mahler
Object 15
Self-Portrait
Object 16
On the Essence of Music
Object 17
Sketch for Serenade, op. 24/v. Dance Scene
Object 18
Ruler
Object 19
Claude Debussy: Sonate pour Violoncelle et Piano
Object 20
Suite for Piano, op. 25/iii. Musette
Object 21
Analysis (in the form of Program notes) of the four String Quartets
Object 22
Twelve-tone selection dial
Object 23
Letter to Arnold Schönberg
Object 24
Four Pieces for Mixed Chorus, op. 27/iv
Object 25
Presentation of the Idea
Object 26
Suite, op. 29
Object 27
Suite, op. 29
Object 28
Inversions and (superfluous) devices, Twelve tone dice
Object 29
String Quartet No. 3, op. 30
Object 30
Letter to Rudolf Kolisch
Object 31
Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene, op. 34
Object 32
From Today till Tomorrow, op. 32
Object 33
Analysis of Variations for Orchestra, op. 31
Object 34
Piano Piece, op. 33a
Object 35
Moses and Aron
Object 36
Enigma of Modern Music
Object 37
Lecture in Princeton
Object 38
String Quartet No. 4, op. 37
Object 39
Variations on a Recitative for Organ, op. 40
Object 40
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, op. 42
Object 41
Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte, op. 41
Object 42
Prelude for Genesis op. 44
Object 43
A Survivor from Warsaw op. 46
Object 44
Doktor Faustus
Object 45
String Trio, op. 45
Object 46
Phantasy for Violin with Piano Accompaniment, op. 47
Object 47
Thrice A Thousand Years, op. 50A
Object 48
Modern Psalm, op. 50C
Object 49
Fragment for Voice, Cello, and Piano
Object 50