WILL STONE fact-checks the colourful life of Ozzy Osbourne
Marxist Notes on Music: January 6, 2021
Arnold Schoenberg’s music is much like whisky, the first try is rarely fun, however the richness is eventually enjoyed when you stick with it
(L to R) Arnold Schoenberg, 1927, photographed by Man Ray and drawn by Egon Schiele, 1917
JAMES CROSSLEY applauds a lucid biography of the German radical preacher who reemerged as a hero in the GDR
Prizes all round: the Bard hands plaudits to the Miners Gala, OT&JC, Joe Solo, Black Sabbath’s frontman and the Lionesses
Star cartoonist JAMIE BRITTON is in awe of a graphic novel of epic proportions that explores class, religion and globalisation via the strange cultivation of Ginseng in the US Midwest
GUILLERMO THOMAS is intrigued by a history of the Middle East that demonstrates how promising post colonial beginnings were snuffed out by Western imperialist interests
MARIA DUARTE recommends the intricate study of a high-performance and highly dysfuntional German family
FEW figures throughout history have managed to have the musical impact of Arnold Schoenberg. Unlike older giants, like Beethoven, Schoenberg, despite having a huge admiration, still suffers the ire of conservative ears and being the “sole” reason for disliking modern music (ignoring that Schoenberg has not been modern for decades).
Born in Vienna in 1874, Schoenberg’s music grew and developed amid the cultural growth and energy of turn of the century Vienna and he was mostly self-taught.
His early works show the influence of Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss, a rich romanticism and tempestuous music full of energy and drama.
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