Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian-American composer who developed the twelve-tone technique, a method of composition with twelve pitches which are ordered and used systematically.
Think of Schoenberg as the inventor of a new language. Just like J.R.R. Tolkien created Elvish for his Lord of the Rings series, Schoenberg created a new musical language with his twelve-tone technique.
Atonality: A style of music that avoids a key center or tonal hierarchy, often associated with modernist composers like Schoenberg.
Expressionism (music): A style of music that emphasizes extreme emotion and individualistic expression, often through atonality and dissonance. This is like painting with wild brush strokes and bold colors to express intense feelings - but in music!
Second Viennese School: A group of composers who were taught by or associated with Arnold Schoenberg in Vienna during the early twentieth century. They were known for their innovations in musical composition techniques.
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