Schönberg's approach, both in terms of harmony and development, has been one of the most influential of 20th-century musical thought. Many European and American composers from at least three generations have consciously extended his thinking, whereas others have passionately reacted against it. During the rise of the Nazi Party in Austria, Schönberg's works were labelled as degenerate music.
Schönberg was known early in his career for simultaneously extending the traditionally opposed German Romantic styles of Brahms and Wagner. Later, his name would come to personify innovations in atonality (although Schönberg himself detested that term) that would become the most polemical feature of 20th-century art music. In the 1920s, Schönberg developed the twelve-tone technique, an influential compositional method of manipulating an ordered series of all twelve notes in the chromatic scale. He also coined the term developing variation, and was the first modern composer to embrace ways of developing motifs without resorting to the dominance of a centralized melodic idea.
Schönberg was also a painter, an important music theorist, and an influential teacher of composition; his students included Alban Berg, Anton Webern, Hanns Eisler, Egon Wellesz, and later John Cage, Lou Harrison, Earl Kim, Leon Kirchner, and other prominent musicians.
Many of Schönberg's practices, including the formalization of compositional method, and his habit of openly inviting audiences to think analytically, are echoed in avant-garde musical thought throughout the 20th century. His often polemical views of music history and aesthetics were crucial to many significant 20th-century musicologists and critics, including Theodor W. Adorno, Charles Rosen and Carl Dahlhaus, as well as the pianists Artur Schnabel, Rudolf Serkin, Eduard Steuermann and Glenn Gould.
Tove "Sterne jubeln das Meer es leuchtet"
Arnold Schönberg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Presst an die Küste sein pochendes Herz,
Blätter, sie murmeln, es zittert ihr Tauschmuck,
Seewind umfängt mich in mutigem Scherz,
Wetterhahn singt, und die Turmzinnen nicken,
Burschen stolzieren mit flammenden Blicken,
Wogende Brust voll üppigen Lebens
Fesseln die blühenden Dirnen vergebens,
Fackeln, sie lodern und leuchten so gerne,
Wald erschließt seinen Bann zur Stell′,
Horch, in der Stadt nun Hundegebell.
Und die steigenden Wogen der Treppe
Tragen zum Hafen den fürstlichen Held,
Bis er auf alleroberster Staffel
Mir in die offenen Arme fällt
The lyrics of Arnold Schönberg's song Tove, specifically the lines "Sterne jubeln, das Meer, es leuchtet/ Presst an die Küste sein pochendes Herz" describe a scene of exuberant nature. The stars are rejoicing and the sea is sparkling, beating against the coast with its lively heart. The leaves murmur, trembling with their dewy adornments, while the sea wind whimsically embraces the singer. Schönberg's poetic imagery employs various senses, as the weathercock sings and the tower battlements nod, evoking a vision of movement and life in the scenery. The young men strut with daring gazes, their chests full of abundant energy, and the blooming girls are hopelessly captivated. Even the roses and torches attempt to gaze out into the distance for a glimpse of what is to come. The forest opens up its spell, and the town's dogs are heard barking in the distance.
Line by Line Meaning
Sterne jubeln, das Meer, es leuchtet,
The stars are celebrating, the sea is shining.
Presst an die Küste sein pochendes Herz,
The sea is pressing against the coast with its beating heart.
Blätter, sie murmeln, es zittert ihr Tauschmuck,
Leaves are whispering, their dew is trembling.
Seewind umfängt mich in mutigem Scherz,
Sea breeze is embracing me with brave playfulness.
Wetterhahn singt, und die Turmzinnen nicken,
Weathercock sings, and the tower pinnacles nod.
Burschen stolzieren mit flammenden Blicken,
Young men parade with fiery gazes.
Wogende Brust voll üppigen Lebens
Surging chest full of abundant life
Fesseln die blühenden Dirnen vergebens,
In vain do they try to captivate the blooming maidens.
Rosen, sie mühn sich, zu spähn in die Ferne,
Roses strain to gaze into the distance.
Fackeln, sie lodern und leuchten so gerne,
Torches blaze and gleam so gladly.
Wald erschließt seinen Bann zur Stell′,
The forest reveals its enchantment here.
Horch, in der Stadt nun Hundegebell.
Listen, there is barking in the city now.
Und die steigenden Wogen der Treppe
And the rising waves of the staircase
Tragen zum Hafen den fürstlichen Held,
Carry the princely hero to the harbor,
Bis er auf alleroberster Staffel
Until he reaches the very top step
Mir in die offenen Arme fällt
And falls into my open arms.
Contributed by Owen I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.