Anton Webern (Composer, Arranger) Born: December 3, 1883 - Vienna, Austria Died: September 15, 1945 - Mittersill, Austria

(accidentally shot and killed by an Life

The remarkable Austrian composer, Anton (Friedrlch Willhelm) von Webern (he 1918 when such distinctions were outlawed in Austria), received his first instructi pianist; then studied piano, cello, and theory with Edwin Komauer in Kiagenfurt. there. In 1902 he entered the University of Vienna, where he studied harmony wit Navratil. He also attended classes in musicology with Adler; received his Ph.D. in Isaac's Cboralis Constantinus II.

n 1904 he began private studies in composition with Arnold Schoenberg, whose a studied with A. Schoenberg. Together, A. Schoenberg, Alban Berg, and Webern l known as the 2nd Viennese School of composition. The unifying element was the a composition with 12 tones related only to one another. Malevolent opponents refe Webern as a Vienna Trinity, with A. Schoenberg as God the Father, A. Berg as th the last appellation was supposed to describe the phantomlike substance of some o

From 1908 to 1914 Webern was active as a conductor in Vienna and in Germany. 1917-1918, was conductor at the Deutsches Theater in Prague. In 1918 he settled taught composition privately. From 1918 to 1922 he supervised the programs of th Privatauffhrungen (Society for Private Musical Performances), organized in Vien of promoting modern music without being exposed to reactionary opposition (mus performances). Webern was conductor of the Schubertbund (1921-1922) and the M also led the Vienna Workers' Symphony concerts (1922-1934) and the Vienna Wo sponsored by the Social Democratic Party. From 1927 to 1938 he was a conductor conducted guest engagements in Germany, Switzerland, and Spain. From 1929, he he was a guest conductor with theBBC Symphony Orchestra. For the most part, h composition, private teaching, and lecturing.

After Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, Webern's music was banned as a

and "degenerate art." His position became more difficult after the Anschluss in 19 published. He eked out an existence by teaching a few private pupils and making p others for Universal Edition. After his son was killed in an air bombardment of a t fled from Vienna to Mittersill, near Salzburg, to stay with his married daughters a tragically on the evening of September 15, 1945, when he was shot and killed by a outside his son-in-law's residence (for a full account, see: H. Moldenhauer, The D Documents, New York, 1961). Music

Webern left relatively few works, and most of them are of short duration (the 4th o scored for clarinet, trumpet, trombone, mandolin, celesta, harp, drum, violin, and v in his music he achieves the utmost subtilization of expressive means. He adopted almost irrimediately after its definitive formulation by A. Schoenberg (1924), and of notes to tone colors, so that in some of his works (e.g., Symphony, Op. 21) solo successive thematic notes. Dynamic marks are similarly diversified. Typically, ea symmetric sections of 2, 4, or 6 members, which enter mutually into intricate but i Inversions and augmentations are inherent features; melodically and harmonically minor ninth are stressed; single motifs are brief, and stand out as individual partic

The impact of these works on the general public and on the critics was disconcerti demonstrations; however, the extraordinary skill and novelty of technique made th the times; performances of Webern's works multiplied after his death, and began t modern musicians; Igor Stravinsky acknowledged the use of Webem's methods in professed to follow Webern's ideas of tone color; analytical treatises have been pu International Webern Festival celebrated the centennial of his birth in December 1 Works See: Works

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Source: Bakers Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Classical Musicians (199 Contributed by Aryeh Oron (June 2009) Anton Webern: Short Biography | Works | Arrangements/Transcriptions: Works from Musical Offreing BWV 1079, orchestrated

Other Arrangements of J.S. Bach's Works

String Quartet, Op. 28 (1936-1938; Pittsfield, Massachusetts, September 22, 1938 around the BACH motif