Anton Webern
An Austrian composer who distilled music into fleeting, crystalline moments of sound, radically shaping the course of 20th-century modernism.
1883–1945 (age 62)·Austrian composer and conductor·Birthday: December 3·The Lost Generation
Biography
Anton Webern pursued a path of radical reduction. A devoted pupil of Arnold Schoenberg, he embraced atonality and later the twelve-tone method, but pushed them to an extreme of brevity and pointillistic clarity. His works are often shockingly short; entire movements can pass in under a minute, each note placed with the precision of a jeweler. This 'aphoristic' style, influenced by his deep study of Renaissance polyphony, created a world of fragile beauty and intense expression. While his music was denounced as degenerate by the Nazi regime and his output was small, his influence after World War II was immense. For a generation of composers like Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen, Webern's structured sonic world became a blueprint for total serialism, making him a quiet, pivotal figure in music's evolution.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Anton was born in 1883, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Anton Was Born
The biggest hits of 1883
Anton's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1883Born
President: Chester A. Arthur
1888Started school
President: Grover Cleveland
1896Became a teenager
First modern Olympic Games held in Athens
President: Grover Cleveland
1899Could drive
President: William McKinley
1901Could vote
Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1904Turned 21
New York City opens its first subway line
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1913Turned 30
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1923Turned 40
The Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo
President: Calvin Coolidge"Yes! We Have No Bananas" — Billy Jones
1933Turned 50
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1943Turned 60
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1945Died at 62
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
Key Achievements
- Was a central figure, with Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg, in the Second Viennese School of composition.
- Pioneered an intensely concise, 'aphoristic' style in works like his 'Six Bagatelles for String Quartet.'
- His posthumous influence was foundational for the development of total serialism in the 1950s.
- Completed his 'Passacaglia for Orchestra,' Op. 1, under Schoenberg's guidance, marking his transition to modernism.
Did You Know?
He earned a doctorate in musicology from the University of Vienna with a dissertation on the Renaissance composer Heinrich Isaac.
He worked as a conductor and rehearsal pianist for various theaters, though he was notoriously shy.
He was accidentally shot and killed by an American soldier during a curfew misunderstanding at the end of World War II.
“I strive for the greatest clarity and distinctness.”
