"Transfigured Night" String Sextet op. 4
Annette Oppermann (Editor)  

A true "modern classic"

• Based on a poem by Richard Dehmel, the Sextet incorporates the ideas of the symphonic poem in its programmatic character and its one-movement form, and also displays late Romantic traits in its opulent tone.
• Already at its premiere in 1902 in Vienna, the special quality of the work was recognised, characterised by “peculiar sound combinations and groundbreaking figures”.
• The new Henle edition is the first Urtext edition with verbatim texts, dealing with the difficult source situation and the evaluation of different versions.
• The musical text includes tempo markings from the later orchestral version as a practical study aid. 
• As an additional feature of the Henle Library app, a score based on the orchestral version can be displayed, annotated by Schönberg specialist Henk Guittart. 

Phantasy for Violin with Accompaniment of the Piano op. 47
Eike Feß (Editor)  

Schönberg's last instrumental work, composed in 1949

• The composition was inspired by violinist Adolph Koldofsky whom Schönberg had met the year before admiring his interpretation of the String Trio op. 45.
• Schönberg aimed "to write a piece whose unimpeded flow cannot be traced back to any formal theory"
• A perfect example of the twelve-tone technique: the entire row is created in the interplay of violin and piano
• The new Henle edition is the only practical Urtext edition on the market!
• Violinist Ulf Wallin and pianist Shai Wosner, both specialists in Schönberg's twelve-tone works, provided their fingerings for this edition.

Three Piano Pieces op. 11
Ullrich Scheideler (Editor)  

A classic of new music

• "… my piano writing is not the result of any lack of ability, but the expression of a firm will, of specific inclinations, of clearly graspable feelings. What it does not do, is not what it cannot, but what it does not want to do.“ Schönberg defended his op. 11 in a letter to Busoni, in response to his criticism of the work.
• Opus 11 is the first purely instrumental compositions in so-called "free atonality".
• For all its revolutionary explosive power, the cycle is classically structured, with a sonata-like first movement, a slow middle piece and a stormy finale.
• Pianist and Schönberg expert Emanuel Ax provided his fingerings.
• The music setting is generously laid out and is based on the first edition, edited by Schönberg scholar Ullrich Scheideler.

Six Little Piano Pieces op. 19
Norbert Müllemann (Editor)  

Miniatures, with hidden depths behind fleeting gestures

• A classic of new music: With these pieces, the concentration on the essential is legendary.
• The pause after each of the short pieces was so important to Schönberg that he had this annotation printed as a footnote on the first page of the first edition in 1913: “ A long pause after each piece!“
• The last piece presumably refers to Gustav Mahler's funeral on 21 May 1911 – it  was composed almost exactly one month to the day after Mahler's death.
• With carefully considered fingerings by Emanuel Ax, who writes in the preface:  “I have loved playing these touching and meaningful pieces most of my life.”

Five Piano Pieces op. 23
Ulrich Krämer (Editor)  

A transitional work

• With this cycle, Schönberg made the decisive step from free atonal music to composition based on tone rows, which however did not yet necessarily have to contain all twelve chromatic tones.
• The composer had already begun his Five Piano Pieces op. 23 in 1920 as a contribution to a Debussy memorial album, but only completed them in 1923 – as an independent work commissioned by the Copenhagen music publisher Wilhelm Hansen. 
• The best-known piece is No. 5, the "Waltz" – an ironic play with genre traditions and at the same time a swift-moving piece of music.
• The editor is one of the most distinguished Schönberg scholars, Ulrich Krämer, and the fingering was provided by Schönberg specialist Shai Wosner.

Suite op. 25
Marte Auer (Editor)  

The first work to be based entirely on a twelve-tone row

• Schönberg’s Suite op. 25 of 1923 refers to pre-classical forms in its movement titles Präludium, Gavotte–Musette, Intermezzo, Menuett–Trio and Gigue, yet at the same time it was the first work to be based entirely on a twelve-tone row. 
• The pianist’s full commitment is required: the composer has added a whole range of new articulation marks to ensure a nuanced and expressive performance.
• With fingerings by Shai Wosner, a true connoisseur of the Suite.

Who's afraid of Schönberg?

A talk with Therese Muxeneder from Arnold Schönberg Center Vienna and Norbert Müllemann, Head of Publishing at G. Henle Publishers about Arnold Schönberg, individual and personal approach to his music and preserving and editing his outstanding work.

Produced for Henle Open Day 2023

Interview with Emanuel Ax and Shai Wosner
– by Norbert Müllemann, Head of Publishing G. Henle Publishers –

on Schönberg's piano pieces op. 11 and 19 as well as on piano suite op. 25. The world-renowned pianists Emanuel Ax and Shai Wosner provided their fingerings for our new Schönberg editions! Norbert Müllemann talks with them on the complexity of Schönberg's music, a fresh view on those compositions and teaching such "difficult" works. 

Schönberg – String Quartet No. 2 Op. 10 – presented by Claire E. Craig

"I feel air from another planet" – two poems ("Litanei" and "Entrückung") by the German poet Stefan George are set in music by Arnold Schönberg within his 2nd string quartet, a work which for many reasons marks a true turning point in the history of music composition. Listen to soprano Claire E. Craig, the Habe Quartet (Wiener Symphoniker) and Therese Muxeneder from Arnold Schönberg Center Wien what they have to say in music and words about this extraordinary masterpiece!

The footage was filmed in Vienna and kindly provided by Wiener Symphoniker and Claire E. Craig. Special thanks go to Therese Muxeneder / Arnold Schönberg Center.