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A treasure house of composer Arnold Schoenberg’s music destroyed in Palisades fire

BBG News

On the 7th of January, Larry Schoenberg was just about to compile the tax documents for Belmont Music Publishers, a prestigious institution dedicated to preserving and promoting the works of his renowned father, Arnold Schoenberg, a highly influential musician of the 20th century. However, before he could delve into the task, his daughter Camille phoned him and suggested he take a look outside.

Good heavens,” he exclaimed, as massive clouds of smoke swirled near his Pacific Palisades residence. Instinctively, he hopped into his vehicle with his wife in another, and they sped off towards their daughter’s place, which was located elsewhere within the Palisades.

Instead of waiting things out, the initial strategy was to do so. Yet, by the end of that very day, Schoenberg’s home had been destroyed by fire. As the inferno advanced, it ultimately reached his daughter’s house, prompting them to evacuate and seek refuge with another daughter in Venice.

The fiery destruction likewise reduced Belmont Music Publishers, situated at the back of a house on Bienveneda Avenue, to ashes. For six decades, Belmont functioned as a vital conduit between Schoenberg, commonly known as the pioneer of “modern music,” and musicians and scholars, offering them access to his compositions.

Most of the composer’s original works are kept at the Arnold Schönberg Center in Vienna. Unfortunately, nearly everything from Belmont’s collection – approximately 100,000 items consisting of manuscripts, original scores, letters, books, photographs, and artworks – was destroyed.

For Larry Schoenberg, it was more than just a physical destruction; it was a deeply felt cultural wound – further evidence of how the wildfires have erased a significant part of Los Angeles’ rich cultural history.

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Multiple filming locations, including The Palisades and Eaton areas, were either severely harmed or completely razed by the fires.

Schoenberg significantly transformed the way Western music was composed and contributed significantly to contemporary global music, yet his impact extends beyond music; he also left an enduring impression on the cultural landscape of Los Angeles.

Joy H. Calico, head of the Musicology department at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music, expressed that the magnitude of this fire poses challenges in comprehending the extent of the losses. She clarified that while not all of his legacy has vanished, the impact on the ability to perform his music in a practical sense is significant and severe.

***

As a passionate film enthusiast, I’d like to share some intriguing history: In 1965, my wife Gertrud, a talented librettist, along with our son Larry, established Belmont Music Publishers. The name was cleverly derived from our surname in German, translating to “beautiful mountain.” This venture of ours has been a significant part of the music industry’s landscape ever since.

After the composer’s passing in 1951, many individuals contacted Gertrud seeking his musical compositions. Due to extensive correspondence with the German publisher, the heirs decided to establish Belmont, as Gertrud held the rights to her husband’s catalog. They initially operated this business from a garage converted behind their Brentwood residence, distributing and leasing carefully selected editions of Schoenberg’s sheet music for performances.

Larry Schoenberg noted that we aren’t particularly skilled in business matters. Essentially, we were overspending more than we were bringing in.

In their hometown, business wasn’t viewed positively; it was more like a taboo. As he put it, “Growing up, ‘business’ felt like an unclean term.” His father often used the German term “der Gauner,” which translates to crook or swindler, when referring to business.

As a passionate film enthusiast, I found myself captivated by the transformative journey of Belmont, initially situated elsewhere but eventually settling into the structure nestled behind Larry Schoenberg’s Pacific Palisades abode. This dynamic establishment, over time, flourished into a thriving business that served to safeguard and share Schoenberg’s artistic legacy with the globe, making his works universally accessible.

In September last year, we celebrated the 150th anniversary of Schoenberg’s birth. A wave of concerts was held across Europe and America, with the San Francisco Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic among those participating. Much of this music was obtained from Belmont for these performances.

83-year-old Larry Schoenberg, once a mathematics instructor at Palisades High School, has consistently served as the vigilant protector of Belmont.

As an ardent admirer, I diligently managed a physical whiteboard, meticulously listing my father’s forthcoming musical performances and the items that required shipping. Every item was neatly labelled and arranged in a systematic manner, yet all information remained un digitalized.

He acknowledged, “It seems I made an oversight.” His data was securely stored, but unfortunately, it was only saved locally on hard drives and flash drives. He opted against using the cloud, having some reservations about it. In retrospect, he wishes he had chosen to store everything in the cloud. Essentially, what this boils down to is that we’re left with no backup data.

The fire destroyed all of Schoenberg’s pioneering compositions housed there, spanning from his early Romantic music to his groundbreaking 12-tone pieces, as well as significant works like “Pierrot Lunaire.” Additionally, performance posters, a statue of Schoenberg, and assorted items such as the whimsical playing card sets designed by the composer himself were also destroyed.

Moreover, vanished too was the one-of-a-kind library brimming with half a century’s collection of manuscripts and letters exchanged with maestros like Zubin Mehta and Claudio Abbado – esteemed conductors who had interpreted Schoenberg’s works.

Larry Schoenberg stated, “When conductors hand back the scores, they include a lot of valuable data for the performances. Unfortunately, most of that information has been lost, as the correspondence dates back to the 1970s, and I occasionally revisit some of these letters.

In December last year, Larry sent a box containing sixteen books to his nephew, E. Randol Schoenberg. These books constitute the entirety of what’s left from the library at Belmont.

Reflecting on all that was lost, he said, “The memories are still there. I didn’t lose those yet.”

***

In 1934, Arnold Schoenberg, an already esteemed intellectual and cultural authority, arrived in Los Angeles.

Born in Vienna in 1874, the composer also was a writer, teacher, inventor and painter.

Relentlessly original and forward-thinking, he developed the 12-tone technique – a revolutionary musical framework that defied the longstanding conventions of melody and harmony. This groundbreaking approach ignited (and continues to provoke) intense discussion, yet was also viewed by numerous others as the pathway for music’s progression in the future. Regrettably, however, his work was denounced by the Nazis as “degenerate.

In 1933, following a telegram advice from his brother-in-law Rudolf Kolisch suggesting a change of environment, the composer (who was then 60 years old) and his family boarded the midnight train to Paris, abandoning all their possessions. This account is shared by E. Randol Schoenberg, also known as Randy, the composer’s grandson.

Schoenberg spent a short spell in Boston and New York before deciding to leave the cold East Coast for the sunny climes of Los Angeles. In a letter to his friend, the Austrian composer and conductor Anton Webern, he wrote that it was like being in Switzerland, the French Riviera, the Vienna Woods, the desert, Salzkammergut, Spain, Italy – all in one place. What’s more, even during winter, there seemed to be hardly a day without sunshine.

His coming coincided with the migration of German-speaking Jewish musicians fleeing Nazi-controlled Europe, which played a significant role in igniting a golden era of classical music in Los Angeles, as numerous composers penned film scores there.

1936 saw the purchase of a Spanish Colonial home in Brentwood by Schoenberg. This residence soon served as a hub for the social and cultural lives of European expatriates, playing host to notable figures such as Thomas Mann, Franz Werfel, and his spouse Alma Mahler-Werfel.

In that location, Schoenberg formed relationships with notable figures from Hollywood. Shirley Temple lived nearby, Harpo Marx was a close companion, and George Gershwin was both a friend and tennis partner. As per Randy, his grandfather was engaged in a tennis match with Gershwin when Randy’s father, Ronald, was born in 1937.

At UCLA, Schoenberg was known for being an exceptional educator, and his guidance was highly valued. When the esteemed German conductor Otto Klemperer arrived in town to conduct at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, he sought out Schoenberg’s tutelage for further learning.

Due to financial constraints, he started teaching private students, many of whom were composers who had moved to California to work in the film industry. “They were eager to learn about any secret methods or techniques used to create music that sounded like this,” Randy explained. “After a couple of lessons, they would list ‘studies with Arnold Schoenberg’ on their resumes and never return.

He realized this and opted to set high prices for the introductory sessions. However, should the individual develop into a genuine student, he would adjust the fees accordingly.

Many pupils of Schoenberg, including notables like John Cage, Alfred Newman, and David Raksin, flourished significantly, and their ties played a pivotal role in ensuring that the composer’s enduring impact on the film industry in Hollywood and further afield was sustained over time.

Posthumously, Schoenberg’s impact is undeniable.

For many years, film composers have relied on this groundbreaking 12-tone method to create discordant and surprising tunes, much like Jerry Goldsmith did with his iconic score for the 1968 movie “Planet of the Apes.

Even though Schoenberg’s music is heard everywhere globally, his musical notations can be found scattered throughout Los Angeles.

At UCLA, the music hall and primary performance center are both known as Schoenberg-named venues. In the month of May, an opera titled “Schoenberg in Hollywood” is scheduled to be staged at UCLA. This production comprises three fictional scenes depicting events from the composer’s life.

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Arnold Schoenberg’s groundbreaking “Pierrot Lunaire” seems to have prophesied a twisted version of reality, one that continues to linger with us today.

The individuals who have meticulously preserved his legacy are not only key figures in the civic and cultural landscape of this city but also include Ronald, a retired judge and son of Larry. Living with his spouse Barbara, a descendant of composer Eric Zeisl, in Schoenberg’s original Brentwood residence, Ronald is also known for his association with the family that won a landmark case in 2004, resulting in the Austrian government returning five Gustav Klimt paintings taken by the Nazis to Maria Altman’s relatives.

The Schoenberg family, who sadly lost four homes in the fires, plan to digitize their manuscripts stored in Vienna to recreate lost scores and other documents, as well as correspondence that is currently with people worldwide. Larry Schoenberg shared that they’ve received an abundance of support and encouragement from people around the globe.

It’s fascinating to ponder the journey of that legacy, which had to leave central Europe due to danger there. Now, it seems, it encounters a distinct predicament right here,” Calico noted.

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2025-01-16 20:01

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