Arnold Schönberg
Piano Pieces op. 33a & 33b
Schönberg’s publisher Emil Hertzka provided the impetus for composition of the Piano Piece op. 33a in 1928. In fact, he had merely asked for permission to print an older work in the collection Musik der Zeit (“Music of the Time”); but Schönberg preferred to compose a new work for the volume, which was issued in 1929 by Universal Edition. In this work, as well as in the Piano Piece op. 33b composed two years later, the composer refined the use of his twelve-tone technique and, regarding its formal structure, oriented himself around classical-romantic traditions. These two seldom-heard pieces in Schönberg’s mature style captivate by their colourful piano sound and organic dramatic arc – one can almost recognize a classical trait within them. Discover this unknown side of Schönberg, made perfectly accessible by Henle’s tack-sharp music engraving and the helpful fingerings by Schönberg expert Shai Wosner!
About the Authors
Norbert Müllemann (Editor)
Dr. Norbert Müllemann, born in 1976 in Cologne, studied musicology, German philology and philosophy at the University of Cologne whilst at the same time studying the piano at the Music Conservatory in Cologne.
In 2004 he began working at G. Henle Publishers as an intern. In 2005 he became a junior editor, whilst at the same time starting his doctorate at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. He completed it in 2008 with a thesis entitled “Handschriften Frédéric Chopins bis 1830. Studien zur Authentizität, Datierung und Werkgenese”. Since 2008 Müllemann has been an editor at the publishing house, becoming editor-in-chief in 2017. He has edited numerous Urtext editions for the publisher with a particular focus on the works of Frédéric Chopin.