MUSIC CH RONICLE
TWO COMPOSERS: A LETTER FROM HOLLYWOOD
Arnold Schonberg and Igor Stravinsky, the two most im–
portant composers of today, after wandering for years, have settled
down in Hollywood, which is about as far as a European can "go West."
It is strange that two men so different in every respect should have
chosen this place to live and work in. For even though they are both living
in a city which is dominated by the motion picture industry, neither
one has anything to do with motion pictures.
Do they feel at horne? Are there deeper reasons for their presence?
Has their importance diminished since corning to live here?
To answer these questions we must first understand the specific roles
which Schonberg and Stravinsky play in our contemporary musical
world.
I t is probably quite safe to say that the musical activity of the last
forty years has evolved essentially under Schonberg's influence. In fact,
I doubt if there is a single composer whose work has not been affected
by him. And this is true regardless of the composer's age, nationality,
musical background, or whether he likes or dislikes Schonberg's corn-
. positions. Or
even if he has never actually heard a note of them,
there
isn't one composer who could write the same music had Schonberg's not
existed. Though his work is the most traditional of all contemporary
music, Schonberg's fantastic innovations have entirely transformed the
art of sound through what might be called the emancipation of dis–
sonance.
However, the history of music-and history in general for that
matter-never evolves in a straight line, and it would certainly be a
mistake to think that the Schonbergian influence is the only one there is.
His genuine antithesis exists, in fact, in the person of Igor Stravinsky.
In background, origins, and tradition Schonberg and Stravinsky are
poles apart. Schonberg, the Viennese, inherited the riches of a century–
long evolution which from Bach, through Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven,
Schubert, Schumann on to Brahms, Wagner, and Mahler was based on
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