Arnold Schönberg was not only an important composer and the leading figure of the Second Viennese School, he was also a writer, teacher, theorist, painter and inventor.

Born in Vienna's Leopoldstadt district to a Jewish family, his life was shaped by the events of the century. At the same time, Schönberg became a vigilant and uncompromising co-creator of the era.
From the classics Bach, Mozart and Beethoven to Brahms and Wagner, he regarded music as the "tonal expression of the human soul". Finally, as a pioneer of the twelve-tone method, he paved the way for modernism and took his contemporaries into new spheres.

The cabinet exhibition opened on July 10, 2024 in cooperation with the Arnold Schönberg Center Vienna and follows in his footsteps on a journey of discovery to the places where he lived and worked: from Vienna via the major cities of Europe, his path led him into exile to the film metropolis of Hollywood.

Workshop documents show the imaginative thinker, whose inventiveness did not stop at chess. Expressive portraits and painterly visions allow his voice to be heard in Austrian Expressionism. Sketches and other manuscripts reveal the intuitive side of the sound creator, always in search of unheard-of music. In original recordings of his voice, the composer himself also has his say: translated into 16 different languages, the film "Who I am" conveys a vivid picture of the artist and man.

Bis zum  29. Juni 2025 können die Gemälde, Handschriften und Erfindungen des einflussreichen Denkers im Haus der Musik erkundet werden.

In the photo: © Hanna Pribitzer | from left to right: Lucas Krieger, Eike Feß, Dr. Ulrike Anton, Dir. Simon K. Posch