Bruckner - Mahler - Schoenberg

Bruckner Mahler Schoenberg by DIKA NEWLIN. Preface: THE IDEA of this book originally came to me during my years of study with Arnold Schoenberg in Los Angeles ( 1938-1941). At that time I was first introduced to the most radical works of Schoenberg works virtually unknown in this country so far as public performances are concerned. I felt the need of a historical background which would explain the origins of the new style. It was this which brought me to a study of the works of Mahler and Bruckner; for Schoenberg's oft expressed indebtedness to Mahler plainly indicated that the roots of Schoenberg's style might be found in Mahler's scores ( however different Mahler's music might be in texture from Schoenberg's), and the re lationship between Mahler and Bruckner seemed well established. Thence, it was but a step to the conclusion that Schoenberg is not only the heir of Bruckner and Mahler but also the heir of the great Viennese classical tradition, which they transmitted to him. It is this conclusion which I have tried to prove in the following pages; it has been my desire to portray Schoenberg's works as the culmination of several centuries of historical development, rather than as the products of a wilful icono clasm. To this end, I have attempted to place Schoenberg in the Vien nese cultural scene by analyzing, not only the musical background, but also the literary, artistic, and political background of his generation a task which I have likewise performed for the period of Bruckner and of Mahler. Such an extensive project could never have been carried out without the assistance and cooperation of those who were familiar at first hand with the milieu which I wished to reconstruct.