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A Survivor from Warsaw (1947), Arnold Schoenberg NEH Seminar: Stanford Univer it! Am!

"lodar #i Schoenberg: $erman, %e&i h, American 'dentit! (olitic Schoenberg as German: Schoenberg) (ride in $erman*+, ical Hertiage een thro,gho,t hi &riting - .a! fre/,ent homage to the $erman ma ter (0ach, 0eethoven, "agner, 0rahm in .artic,lar), &ho he a& a divinel! in .ired creator - dedicate the develo.ment of the t&elve*tone techni/,e (fir t ,tili1ed in the Wind Quintet in 1924) to the legac! of $erman! m, ic, boa ting that it &o,ld 3 ec,re the hegemon! of $erman m, ic for the ne4t one h,ndred !ear 56 Held .re tigio, .o t at con ervator! in 0erlin ,ntil enactment of 7ivil Servant 8a& in 1999, e4.elling all %e& from ,niver it! .o t 5 %o,rne! to America, finall! landing in 8o Angele in 19945 Schoenberg as Jewish: E4.,l ion from con ervator! often read a a life*defining moment for Schoenberg) %e&i h identification, &hich &a le artic,lated than hi $ermanne .rior to 19995 :he general cholarl! ,nder tanding of hi gro&ing %e&i h identit! i ,mmari1ed a follo& : 1921: Schoenberg) fir t e4.erience &ith anti*Semitic di crimination d,ring a famil! holida! on the +atten ee51 1927: 8etter from Schoenberg to .ainter "a il! ;andin #! that tate : 3' have at la t learnt the le on that ha been forced ,.on me 5 5 5 that ' am not a $erman, not a E,ro.ean, indeed .erha. carcel! a h,man being 5 5 5 b,t ' am a %e&5< 2 1933: Schoenberg) e4.,l ion from the $erman! academic ! tem ,nder the Na1i 7ivil Servant 8a& of 7 A.ril 19995 Schoenberg later emigrate to America5 1933: 8etter from Schoenberg to Anton "ebern (4 A,g, t) that tate : 3' have long ince re olved to be a %e& 5 5 5 ' have al o ret,rned officiall! to the %e&i h religio, comm,nit!5 5 5 5 't i m! intention to ta#e an active .art in endeavor of thi #ind5 ' regard that a more im.ortant than m! art, and am determined 5 5 5 to do nothing in f,t,re = sic> b,t &or# for the %e&i h national ca, e56 3 1938: (,blication of Schoenberg) mo t ?ioni tic e a!, 3:he @o,r*(oint (rogram for %e&r! (199A),6 in &hich he called for the creation of an inde.endent %e&i h tate and 3,nanimit! in %e&r!6 a a defen e again t anti*
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Schoenberg and hi famil! &ere vacationing at the +atten ee &hen a fello& g,e t at the hotel com.lained to the management that the! &ere ho, ing %e& 5 :he management re/,e ted that Schoenberg and hi famil! leave immediatel! d,e to their .olic! on %e&i h g,e t 5 2 8etter from Schoenberg to "a il! ;andin #!, 4 +a! 1929, re.rinted in Arnold Schoenberg, Letters, ed5 Er&in Stein (8ondon: @aber and @aber, 19B4), A9*995 9 8etter from Schoenberg to Anton "ebern, 4 A,g, t 1999, re.rinted in "illi Ceich, Schoenberg: A Critical Biograph ! tran 5 8eo 0lac# (8ondon: 8ongman, 1971), 495

Semitic aggre ion5 Schoenberg as American A life of diffic,lt! and an4iet!, .rimaril! foc, ed aro,nd t&o i ,e : 1) the fic#lene of American ta te and the lac# of a ,..ortive American .,blic or civic organi1ation that &o,ld ,..ort and .romote hi art ( ,ch a the .rivate "ereins in Dienna that cham.ioned hi m, ic d,ring the earl! 2Eth cent,r!)- 2) the .roblem of mone!F&hich &a lin#ed clo el! to the .roblem of gaining commi ion : 11 November 1999 .eech for 8eag,e of =American> 7om.o er : 3' #no& m! val,e- and ' #no& al o, &hich i =sic> m! &or# and m! merit5 And, on the contrar! 5 5 5 ' m, t con e/,entl! fear that, one da!, !o, &ill have eno,gh of ,ch an a..reciation, o a one ha eno,gh of certain food of an e4traordinar! or e4travagant character5 5 5 5 And then, !o, hall de.reciate me564 8etter to C,dolf ;oli ch (1949): 3' agree &ith !o,r anal! i of m, ical life here5 't reall! i a fact that the .,blic let it leader drive it ,nre i tingl! into their commercial rac#et and doe n)t do a thing to ta#e the leader hi. o,t of their hand and force them to do their Gob on other .rinci.le 5 5 5 5 :he e .eo.le regard m, ical life a a mar#et the! mean to con/,er 5 5 5H :he 7ommi ion Schoenberg com.o ed both the m, ic and the te4t for Survivor from Warsaw in 1947, in re .on e to t&o in/,ire : 1) a letter from 7orinne 7hochem, &ho &a organi1ing a Holoca, t trib,te alb,m of &or# b! contem.orar! %e&i h com.o er 5 't &a 7hochem &ho ,gge ted the dramatic .lot for Survivor (3a cene in &hich the doomed %e& tart inging before going to their death6) and ent Schoenberg a co.! of t&o .arti an ong , one of &hich &a #og nit $e nmal, the &ell*#no&n .arti an anthem from the Dilna $hetto5 Schoenberg t,rned do&n thi commi ion a 7hochem co,ld not .a! hi I1EEE fee: 7hochem: 3% wish we were in the position of a wealth patron& 'owever! m recognition and awareness as to what such an album would be to Jewish cultural life and to the musical world in general is greater than m abilit to pa ade(uatel & )nless the composers are willing to help me carr this pro*ect through! % ma have to stop right there&+ Schoenberg: ,When % ta$e -time out- % can do this onl to earn mone ! because m grocer and the State .as$ing ta/es0 demand it& % have done throughout m whole life so much for idealistic ends .and so little has to be returned to me in $ind0 that % have done m dut &+ 2) A commi ion for an orche tral .iece b! the ;o, evit1#! +, ic @o,ndation in %,l! 19475 Schoenberg re .onded i4 da! later and e4.lained that he had alread! beg,n a com.o ition that
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Schoenberg, 3@or Ne& Jor# (1999),6 in Schoenberg and his World, ed5 "alter @ri ch ((rinceton: (rinceton Univer it! (re , 1999)5 H 8etter from Schoenberg to C,dolf ;oli ch, 12 A.ril 1949, in Letters, 27E5

he felt &o,ld be ,itable for the commi ion altho,gh it &a not an orche tral &or#, b,t a vocal &or#5 :he @o,ndation re.lied that &hile the! &o,ld .refer an orche tral &or#, the! did not &i h to inhibit Schoenberg) creative talent5 Survivor &a com.leted a month later5 :he (remiere &a given in November 194A b! ;,rt @rederic#, a Dienne e KmigrK &ho had re ettled in Alb,/,r/,e, Ne& +e4ico, de .ite having been .romi ed to Cene 8eibo&it1 in (ari 5 Ne& Jor#, 0o ton, and (ari all feel n,bbed b! the deci ion, &hich Schoenberg made to off et co.!ing e4.en e of the core and .art (@rederic# agreed to do them for free if the! co,ld have a .erformance of the &or#- a he had the .art , the! did the .erformance fir t)5 :he +, ical 0are 0one @act Survivor i a t&elve*tone com.o ition (meaning that it i com.o ed via the .rinci.le of a controlling ro& and it vario, tran formation ) b,t it e4hibit a highl! e4.re ioni tic ,rface (e4treme hift in tem.i, d!namic , and te4t,re - ,nre olved melodic ge t,re - defamiliari1ation of the .erforming force )5 E4.re ioni m) a ociation &ith . !cholog! (often &ith dee., re.re ed tra,ma) fit nicel! &ith the ,bGect material of Survivor, a narrator &ho ,ffer .o t* tra,matic tre and &ho 3cannot remember ever!thing6 b,t then narrate the ri ing of a ingle memor! (the inging of the Schema 1isroel) to hi con cio, ne 5 :he .iece i in the form of a cantata (normall! a recitative and aria combo for a oloi t- not .art of an o.era, b,t a olo .iece) &ith the recitation of the memor! con tit,ting the fir t .art and the inging of the .ra!er mar#ing the formal hift in form ( .ea#ing to inging)5 :he 7ontem.orar! Lebate Mver S,rvivor Survivor ha received a lot of attention ever ince the .,blication of Ale4ander Cinger) boo#, 2he Composer as Jew, &hich &a intended to rai e a&arene of Schoenberg) %e&i h identit!, omething &hich had been ignored in traditional, canonical e timation of the com.o er a $erman high*moderni t5 Hi e4ile to America &a generall! ignored b! Schoenberg cholar , mo t of &hom ended their t,die of hi t&elve*tone &or# &ith the final &or# com.o ed in $erman! (th, it,ating hi legac! in "eimar)5 Cinger ,gge t an alternative legac!: =:>r,l! modern m, ic had barel! managed to tran cend all remaining nationali tic barrier =at a time> &hen fello& %e& &ere la!ing do&n their live in a dail!, ,ne/,al fight for their inalienable right to live in dignit! 5 5 5 At thi hi toric G,nct,re 5 5 5 Arnold Schoenberg .o,red all hi orro& and the f,ll mea ,re of hi %e&i h .ride into a ,ni/,e mini*drama, a relentle cre cendo from beginning to end of ,nmitigated horror defeated b! ,n!ielding faith, that .aean to %e&i h ,ffering A Survivor from Warsaw 5 5 5 ='>n the climactic Sh3ma, ,ng in ,ni on b! the condemned men a m,ch in defiance of the enem! a in #ee.ing &ith %e&i h tradition, according to &hich the d!ing .rono,nce the ,nit! of the 8ord one la t time, virt,all! all of Arno Nadel) criteria for a gen,inel! %e&i h m, ical intonation combine in a dodeca.honic .,blic e4hortation 5 5 5B Mther have contin,ed thi revi ioni t trend, incl,ding Lavid 8iebermann (in a vol,me edited b!
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Ale4ander Cinger, 2he Composer as Jew (M4ford: 7larendon (re , 199E), 2E95

o,r o&n C, ell 0erman and 7harlotte 7ro ), &ho arg,e : 3:he t&elve*tone etting of the Shema 1isroel effectivel! =re&rote Schoenberg) > &ill =and &ithdre&> from $erman m, ic the right to inherit that &hich he con idered hi mo t end,ring legac! and &hich he had develo.ed .ecificall! for the benefit of $erman m, ic: the method of com.o ing &ith t&elve tone related onl! to one another567 'n thi manner, Schoenberg 3forbid $erman c,lt,re from .artici.ating in the rene&al .romi ed b! the t,rn to eriali m56A :he choral concl, ion of Survivor i generall! inter.reted a a f,ll confirmation and acce.tance of Schoenberg) %e&i h heritage5 Another element that .lag,e Survivor rece.tion i it a..ro.riation of the Holoca, t a a m, ical and te4t,al idea and it engagement &ith &hat Sa,l @riedlNnder call the 3limit of re.re entation56 :he debate center aro,nd &hether Survivor i a moving, effective trib,te to the Holoca, t or a #it ch!, b*movie o,ndtrac# that denigrate the memor! of the victim (indeed, there i evidence that Schoenberg .atterned the libretto on a movie cri.t hi &ife had &ritten)5 'm.re ive m, icologi t have ta#en tand on either ide (7harle Co en in favor- Cichard :ar, #in in o..o ition- Adorno ca,ght in the a.oria), b,t the /,e tion i certainl! &orth! and &a rai ed in conG,nction &ith the &or#) .remiere5 7ritic ;,rt 8i t &rote the follo&ing in 194A: 3:he immen e traged! begin to o,nd tale and melodramatic5 :he $erman 4eldwebel give the order for the e4ec,tion in a cli..ed (r, ian accent o,t of Holl!&ood5 F Mne i almo t relieved and not onl! for obvio, dramatic rea on O &hen the chor, finall! brea# into the &ord of the Hebre& .ra!er5 F Schoenberg &rote thi te4t o,t of !m.ath!, hardl! o,t of tr,e em.ath!, and certainl! not o,t of .er onal e4.erience569 Schoenberg re.lied trongl!, a &a generall! hi tendenc! to&ard mo t critici m, altho,gh he too# le offen e at the Holl!&ood acc, ation and in tead addre ed 8i t) latter ,gge tion that Schoenberg &a &riting abo,t thing he did not ,nder tand: 3No&, &hat the te4t of the Survivor mean to me: it mean at fir t a &arning to all %e& , never to forget &hat ha been done to , , never to forget that even .eo.le &ho did not do it them elve , agreed &ith them and man! of them fo,nd it nece ar! to treat , thi &a!5 "e ho,ld never forget thi , even if ,ch thing have not been done in the manner in &hich ' de cribe in the Survivor5 :hi doe not matter5 :he main thing i , that ' a& it in m! imagination561E

Lavid 8iebermann, 3Schoenberg Ce&rite Hi "ill: A Survivor from Warsaw! M.5 4B,6 in 5olitical and 6eligious %deas in the Wor$s of Arnold Schoenberg! ed 5 7harlotte +5 7ro and C, ell A5 0erman (Ne& Jor#: $arland (,bli hing, 2EEE), 212 O2195 A 8iebermann, 3Schoenberg Ce&rite Hi "ill,6 22E5 9 ;,rt 8i t, 3Schoenberg) Ne& 7antata,6 Commentar BPH (November 194A)5 1E 8etter from Schoenberg to ;,rt 8i t, 1 November 194A, a /,oted in Arnold Schoenberg Self75ortrait: A Collection of Articles! 5rogram 8otes! and Letters b the Composer about his own Wor$s , ed5 N,ria Schoenberg Nono ((acific (ali ade , 7A: 0elmont +, ic (,bli her , 19AA), 1EH5

(edagogical Q,e tion (' .o e the e to m! ,ndergrad,ate &ho handle them &ell): 15 :he ba ic .remi e of Survivor i re.re entation of the tra,matic memor! of a Holoca, t ,rvivor5 Ho& do te4t and m, ic interact to .ortra! tra,matic memor!R Are m, ical memor! and te4t,al memor! in !nc &ith one another, or are there different tem.oral realm in the &or# (meaning: &here the m, ic eem to .refig,re the te4t or, conver el!, &here te4t and m, ic eem &ell aligned)R "hat doe thi tell , abo,t Schoenberg) ,nder tanding of ho& memor! and re.re ion f,nction R 25 :he ret,rn to e4.re ioni m i thematicall! #e! in thi &or#, lin#ing the &or# to both of Schoenberg) t!le .eriod (e4.re ioni t and t&elve*tone)5 "h! might that have been im.ortant to the aging com.o erR "hat thematic or te4t,al rea on are there for the em.lo!ment of both techni/,e (t&elve*tone m, ic a ociated &ith totalit!- total organi1ation- retentione4.re ioni m &ith fragmentation, fract,re, and modern an4iet!P. !cholog!)R 95 :hi i a .ol!glot etting of the cene (bro#en Engli h- $erman- Hebre&)5 "hat doe Schoenberg) choice of lang,age tell , abo,t hi ,rvivorR 7an &e ab tract the e identitie to Schoenberg him elfR Ho& i Survivor an enactment of hi o&n .o t*Holoca, t an4ietie abo,t identit!, memor!, and e4ileR ' thi .iece onl! abo,t the Holoca, tR 45 Survivor &a &ritten /,ite ha til! (three &ee# ) and .rimaril! to earn eno,gh mone! to contin,e &or# on &hat Schoenberg con idered hi more im.ortant %e&i h &or#, 9oses und Aron (never fini hed)5 Loe thi #no&ledge deval,e hi etting and it arti tic &orthR ' Schoenberg) dedication to the 3%e&i h ca, e6 com.licated b! hi .er onal ambition and financial tro,ble in the late American .eriodR H5 Are there ae thetic and ethical limit to imagination of the Holoca, t, or to .oliticall! committed art&or# in generalR ("e often read Hannah Arendt) e a! on 0analit! of Evil in conG,nction &ith the later rece.tion hi tor!) "here or &hat are the bo,ndarie R :e4t for @,rther Ceading Adorno, :heodor "5 37ommitment56 'n Can :ne Live After Auschwit;<: A 5hilosophical 6eader, 24E*2HA5 Ed5 Colf :iedemann, tran 5 Codne! 8iving tone (Stanford, Stanford Univer it! (re , 2EE9)5 0ahr, Ehrhard5 Wiemar on the 5acific: German =/ile Culture in Los Angeles and the Crisis of 9odernism (0er#ele!: Univer it! of 7alifornia (re , 2EE7) 0rin#mann, Ceinhold and 7hri to.h "olff, ed 5 >riven into 5aradise: 2he 9usical 9igration from 8a;i German to the )nited States5 (0er#ele!: Univer it! of 7alifornia (re , 1999) 7alico, %o! H5 3Schoenberg) S!mbolic Cemigration: A Survivor from Warsaw in (o t&ar "e t $erman!56 Journal of 9usicolog Dol5 2BP1 ("inter 2EE9): 17*495

7rittenden, 7amille5 3:e4t and 7onte4t : A Survivor from Warsaw, o.5 4B56 'n 5olitical and 6eligious %deas in the Wor$s of Arnold Schoenberg, ed 5 C, ell 0erman and 7harlotte 7ro , 291*HA5 Ne& Jor#: $arland, 2EEE5 8e em, Alan5 3:he SmigrK E4.erience: Schoenberg in America56 'n Constructive >issonance: Arnold Schoenberg and the 2ransformations of 2wentieth7Centur Culture! ed 5 %,liane 0rand and 7hri to.her Haile!, HA*7E5 0er#ele!: Univer it! of 7alifornia (re , 19975 8ieberman, Lavid5 3Schoenberg Ce&rite hi "ill: A Survivor from Warsaw, o.5 4B56 'n 5olitical and 6eligious %deas in the Wor$s of Arnold Schoenberg, ed 5 C, el 0erman and 7harlotte 7ro , 199*295 Ne& Jor#: $arland, 2EEE5 +Tric1, ;lUra5 Jewish %dentities: 8ationalism! 6acism! and )topia in 2wentieth7Centur 9usic (0er#ele!: Univer it! of 7alifornia (re , 2EEA) Cinger, Ale4ander5 2he Composer as Jew5 M4ford: 7larendon (re , 199E5 Schiller, Lavid5 Bloch! Schoenberg! and Bernstein: Assimilating Jewish 9usic5 M4ford: M4ford Univer it! (re , 2EE95 Schmidt, %ame 5 3+e.hi to.hele in Holl!&ood: Adorno, +ann, and Schoenberg6 in 2he Cambridge Companion to Adorno! ed5 :om H,hn (7ambridge: 7ambridge Univer it! (re , 2EE4), 14A*1AE5 "lodar #i, Am! 8!nn5 3VAn 'dea 7an Never (eri h): +emor!, the +, ical 'dea, and Schoenberg) A Survivor from Warsaw (1947)56 Journal of 9usicolog 24P4 (@all 2EE7): HA1*BEA5 WWWWWWWW3Arnold Schoenberg6 and 3A S,rvivor from "ar a&6 (online re o,rce- great for t,dent ) htt.:PPholoca, tm, ic5ort5orgPinde45.h.RidX choenbergarnold

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