Dictionary of Music - Birding America

Schubert, Franz 367KLANGFARBENMELODIE); the two musical dramasErwartung (“Expectation”) and Die glückliche Hand(“The Lucky Hand”), the former projecting the psychologicalstate of a single character; and Pierrotlunaire (“Pierrot by Moonlight”), a cycle of twentyonesongs (in rondeau form) accompanied by fiveinstrumentalists and performed in SPRECHSTIMME, amusical recitation, half-sung, half-spoken, whichSchoenberg had already used in Gurrelieder. Pierrotlunaire in particular aroused much controversyamong audiences and critics, but its style and instrumentationwere to appeal to numerous later composers(see under MUSIC THEATER). In 1925 Schoenbergreceived a teaching post in Berlin, but in 1933,with the Nazis in power, he was, being a Jew, dismissed.He went to Paris and then to the UnitedStates, where he remained, teaching and composing(mostly in California), for the rest of his life.Shortly before he went to Berlin, Schoenbergcompleted the formulation of the twelve-tone system(which he preferred to call a “technique” or“process”). It first appeared in his Fünf Klavierstücke(“Five Piano Pieces”), op. 23, and Serenadefor seven instruments and bass voice, op. 24 (bothcompleted in 1923), and later in the Suite for piano,op. 25 (the first work in which he used a twelve-noteseries in all the movements), and Wind Quintet, op.26, as well as Variations for Orchestra, op. 31. Afterhis move to America Schoenberg began to use thetwelve-tone technique somewhat less strictly andoccasionally admitted some tonal elements. Thenotable works of this final period include the Suitein G major for string orchestra of 1934, intended foruse by students; Kol Nidre, op. 39, a setting of aJewish prayer; a Piano Concerto; a Violin Concerto;and A Survivor of Warsaw, a cantata dedicated toJews who died in concentration camps during WorldWar II. He never completed his only full-scaleopera, Moses und Aron (“Moses and Aaron”), butthe two acts he did finish have been performed as is(for a third there is only the libretto, no music). Seealso BERG, ALBAN; WEBERN, ANTON.school A term loosely used to describe a group ofmusicians who worked in the same place, or duringthe same period, or in the same style of composition(or performance). The school of Notre Dame, forexample, refers to a group of musicians who workedin Paris during the thirteenth century, developing astyle of polyphonic church music (music with severalvoice-parts). Similarly, the Mannheim schoolwas a group of musicians who played in, conducted,and composed music for the orchestra of a Germanprince in Mannheim, Germany, about the middle ofthe eighteenth century, and who developed a particularstyle of orchestral music and performance. Neitherof these movements was associated with a particulareducational institution.schottische (shôt′i she) German: “Scottish.”Also, British, German polka. A dance popular innineteenth-century Europe. It was performed as around dance (with the dancers forming a circle). Itsmusic is similar to the polka, but considerablyslower in tempo.Schubert (shoo — ′bərt), Franz (fränts), 1797–1828.An Austrian composer who is remembered for hissongs, symphonies, chamber music, and pianoworks, which show a remarkable gift for creatinglovely melodies. He wrote some of the finest examplesof the LIED (def. 1) ever written, among them“Gretchen am Spinnrade” (Gretchen at the SpinningWheel), “Der Erlkönig” (The Erl-King), and thesongs in the two song cycles, Die schöne Müllerin(“The Fair Maid of the Mill”) and Die Winterreise(“The Winter Journey”). Schubert studied musicfrom an early age and became a teacher, but attwenty he decided to devote himself entirely tomusic. Although money was a constant problemthroughout his short life, he managed to composemore than six hundred songs, nine symphonies, agreat deal of chamber music, and many works forpiano, among them numerous piano duets. In stylehis music bridges the classic and romantic periods.Although his sonatas, quartets, and symphonies areconstructed in the classical style of Mozart andBeethoven, his harmonies show more chromaticism(freer use of dissonance), and he often shifted frommajor to minor and back again. Schubert’s songs aremost notable for their lovely melodies, yet he did notneglect the piano accompaniment, which he treatedmore and more elaborately. He selected poems ofgreat beauty, often by outstanding poets such as