Exhibition - Arnold Schönberg, a Personal Portrait

On March 5 the multi media exhibition Wer ich bin (Who I am), a personal portrait of the composer Arnold Schönberg (1874 to 1951), opened at the Arnold Schönberg Center. The exhibition was designed and put together by Nuria Schönberg Nono, the composer's daughter. While his works play a prominent role, it is Arnold Schönberg, the person, who is at the heart of the exhibition which features exhibits directly related to his life.

The exhibition shows Schönberg's study at his home in Los Angeles including all the original furniture as well as pieces of furniture designed by the composer himself. There is also a replica of the living room where the family often spent an evening listening to classical music and reading musical scores together. "Those evenings are among my most cherished memories", Nuria Schönberg Nono recalls. In addition, visitors will be able to browse through and read a great number of facsimiles of notebooks and manuscripts. Experts, on the other hand, may find the original text of one of Schönberg's lectures an intellectual challenge. Other interesting features of the exhibition are original paintings by Schönberg and a recorder Schönberg used before the invention of the audiotape. The Music-Video Room, the exhibition's audio-visual gem, offers audio samples in state of the art sound quality including excerpts of Pierrot lunaire, op. 21. To sum it up: Who I am offers fascinating insights into the life and works of Arnold Schönberg allowing visitors not only to look and listen but also to touch the objects exhibited.

Information

Arnold Schönberg - Wer ich bin
Date: 5 March until End of 2009
Venue: Arnold Schönberg Center, Schwarzenbergplatz 6, 1030 Vienna
Opening Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm, closed on public holidays and on April 10.