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Rating: 
Summary: a wonderful, sympathetic view
Review: Allen Shawn's book is clearly a labor of love. This is remarkable, given that Schoenberg is notoriously difficult to love! I strongly recommend the book to anyone interested in one of the most influential composers of all time. Shawn is a composer, and presents careful treatments of several major compositions, complete with excerpts from the scores. He includes some fascinating biographical information, but the focus is the music. Schoenberg pioneered "atonal" music in the years right around 1910 parallel to Kandinsky's pioneering abstract painting, and in fact the two were friends and collaborators. Here is an amazing quote from Schoenberg: "It has never been the purpose and effect of new art to suppress the old, its predecessor, certainly not to destroy it. ... The appearance of the new can far better be compared with the flowering of a tree: it is the natural growth of the tree of life. But if there were trees that had an interest in preventing the flowering, then they would surely call it revolution. And conservatives of winter would fight against each spring. ... Short memory and meager insight suffice to confuse growth with overthrow." (p. 141)
Rating:
Summary: a wonderful, sympathetic view
Review: Allen Shawn's book is clearly a labor of love. This is remarkable, given that Schoenberg is notoriously difficult to love! I strongly recommend the book to anyone interested in one of the most influential composers of all time. Shawn is a composer, and presents careful treatments of several major compositions, complete with excerpts from the scores. He includes some fascinating biographical information, but the focus is the music. Schoenberg pioneered "atonal" music in the years right around 1910 parallel to Kandinsky's pioneering abstract painting, and in fact the two were friends and collaborators. Here is an amazing quote from Schoenberg: "It has never been the purpose and effect of new art to suppress the old, its predecessor, certainly not to destroy it. ... The appearance of the new can far better be compared with the flowering of a tree: it is the natural growth of the tree of life. But if there were trees that had an interest in preventing the flowering, then they would surely call it revolution. And conservatives of winter would fight against each spring. ... Short memory and meager insight suffice to confuse growth with overthrow." (p. 141)
Rating:
Summary: Great Composer, Great Book
Review: I don't understand musical notation, but when Mr. Shawn goes into detail, his inspiration is transmitted to me, and I want to go hear the work. Schoenberg is tough, true. But I hope people will read this book and see he was human and passionate. It's really silly that I haven't had the opportunity to hear one of the greatest composer's music in concert. Will that change? With more advocates such as Mr. Shawn, I can hope so.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated.
Review: I'm sorry to say this book was entirely overrated when it appeared a couple of years ago. Malcolm MacDonald's older book on Schoenberg is far, far superior. So is H. H. Stuckenschmidt's.
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