Music of the Last Century: Did Schoenberg get it right?

The composers least noticed by writers on music history seem to be the most enduring in the concert hall: the popularity of Rachmaninov or Puccini contrasts strongly with the neglect of modernist icons like Schoenberg or Varèse. This lecture views the gulf between music’s intelligentsia, for whom Schoenberg remains central, and the world’s audiences, for whom he seems more like a costly aberration. What is it about this traditional composer that continues to shock? The lecture ends with an introductory look at a work that confirmed Schoenberg’s lonely path – his Five Orchestral Pieces.