Arnold Schönberg

Suite for Klavier op. 25

Following a seven-year creative hiatus, Arnold Schönberg turned from his exploration of free atonality to develop a strict twelve-tone method, in which he built an entire piece or movement with a sequence encompassing every pitch in the chromatic scale. Composed between 1921 and 1923, his Suite für Klavier (Suite for Piano), Op. 25, was one of the first works to incorporate this new, groundbreaking technique. His pupil Eduard Steuermann gave the first performance on February 25, 1924. The six movements, recalling the Baroque suite, are titled "Präludium," "Gavotte," "Musette," "Intermezzo," "Menuett. Trio," and "Gigue." (15:00)