Arnold Schönberg ended March 1913 with the fractious Skandalkonzert (“scandal concert”) and a brawl. 

“A ticket to a concert only extends the right to hear the concert — not to disrupt the proceedings.”
Schönberg after the concert

Writer Erhard Buschbeck organised a special concert showcasing Austria’s up and coming composers at  storied Wiener Musikverein concert hall. The evening would feature daring modernist music from 5 new generation composers, Arnold Schönberg, Anton von Webern, Alban Berg, Alexander Zemlinsky and Gustav Mahler. Schönberg would conduct the Wiener Konzertverein Orchestra (later to become the Vienna Symphony). 

The program was challenging. 

[modern music] is described as having “a high level of dissonance.” Expressionism attempts to convey the songwriter’s emotional experiences to the audience, with an emphasis on the inner turmoil and dread that reside in the subconscious mind. Expressionism in music encourages harsh discord, severe distortion, and disharmony.  
The Scandal of Arnold Schoenberg’s Skandalkonzert of 1913 – Nspirement

Most of the audience that evening were not prepared for the discordant sounds and made their discomfort known. 

Details of what actually took place are in parts vague, but the broad outline is clear. Webern’s Six Pieces opened the concert, drawing audible protests from some audience members. The Zemlinsky songs were more warmly greeted, but the rot truly set in with Schoenberg’s Kammersymphonie. This 20-minute movement already had a controversial history: its premiere six years earlier in Vienna had attracted a sniggering, hissing and foot-stamping response. History repeated itself on this occasion, when the Kammersymphonie again provoked ripples of hissing and whistling, with fisticuffs reported in the gallery
The highbrow 1913 concert that turned into a violent brawl | Classical Music

 

150th Birthday of Arnold Schönberg
Issued by Austria in 2024 
Designed by Theresa Radlingmaier
This portrait was painted by Richard Gerstl around 1907. 
The painting is part of the Wien Museum in Vienna

 Arnold Schönberg was born in Vienna in 1874 to a Jewish family. His musical talent was already evident as a child: he learned to play the violin and created his first own compositions. After the death of his father, Schönberg worked in a bank for a few years before devoting himself entirely to music. A decisive turning point in his life was his encounter with the composer Alexander von Zemlinsky, who gave him composition lessons. From 1895 Schönberg worked as a choirmaster, conductor and composer and taught both in Berlin and Vienna. In addition to music, he was also intensively involved in painting. In 1911, Schönberg published his music-theoretical work “Harmonielehre”, which is still considered a fundamental work of music theory today. In the years that followed, he developed the revolutionary twelve-tone technique, a method of composition with twelve notes related only to each other, which replaced the traditional major-minor tonality. This technique is of great importance for modern and avant-garde music and is considered one of the most influential developments in music history of the 20th century. In 1933 Schönberg emigrated to the USA, where he continued to compose and teach. He became an American citizen and died in Los Angeles in 1951.

COMMEMORATIVE STAMP FOR THE 150TH BIRTHDAY OF ARNOLD SCHÖNBERG

Schönberg’s piece was difficult enough for much of the audience. Catcalls, shouts and hissing continued, peaking with Alban Berg’s piece. 

The tipping point was Alban Berg’s Fünf Orchesterlieder nach Ansichtskarten von Peter Altenberg. However, different people have different tastes and the audience’s reaction to the music was split. A sizable percentage of them were astonished and indignant by the experimentalism of the music.

In fact, the response split the crowd so severely, that rioting and fighting broke out. Many believed that the music was horrifying and bizarre. The discontent and rage led to the concert’s cancellation right before Gustav Mahler’s piece. Schoenberg’s supporters clashed with people who believed the event was an insult to decorum. 
The Scandal of Arnold Schoenberg’s Skandalkonzert of 1913 – Nspirement

Alban Berg, 100th birthday
Issued by Austria in 1985
Designer: Adalbert Pilch
Engraver: Kurt Leitgeb 

Alban Berg, a Viennese composer born in Vienna on February 9, 1885, was a leading proponent of the “new music” movement prior to and during World War I, with Arnold Schönberg and Anton Webern. After learning the twelve-tone method from his mentor and friend Arnold Schönberg, Berg produced works that used the technique unconventionally because, despite the limitations of twelve-tone music, Berg still aimed to preserve conventional tonal relationships and give his compositions a remarkable amount of expressiveness. With the world premiere of his opera “Wozzeck” in 1922, Berg transformed our perception of opera and rose to prominence as a major advocate of the avant-garde in music. Berg’s compositions were branded as “degenerate” during the Nazi takeover; he was unable to finish his opera “Lulu” and passed away.
Alban Berg: a genius, a child, a hero and a victim of the times – History of culture

How did it all end? From most contemporary accounts, a brawl broke out among the upper class patrons. Despite the orchestra leaving the stage, in an attempt to escape the hissing, jeering, and increasingly angry crowd, the house wouldn’t disperse. They continued shouting and pushing one another, leading to a brawl in the aisles. Concert organiser Buschbeck slapped Dr Viktor Albert who called Buschbeck a “scoundrel” for putting on such a concert. Concert goer and operetta composer Oscar Straus commented that the slap was the most harmonious sound that evening. 

House lights were turned off, in the hopes the fighting would die down, but eventually police were called in, who arrested the worst of the brawlers. The concert came to an end without the final piece being played. Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder was the last score on the program, but by this point in the evening the orchestra were not coming back out. 

The dustup continued in the days to come with a lawsuit and counter lawsuit.

Just days later, the target of Buschbeck’s slap, a Dr Viktor Albert, filed legal proceedings against him, and Buschbeck countersued for being dubbed a ‘scoundrel’. In his defence, Albert claimed the music at the Skandalkonzert was so ‘enervating’, ‘damaging’ and ‘depressing’ that the audience reaction was essentially a cry for help, and unavoidable. Schoenberg himself weighed in with the opinion that the real criminals were those who interrupted the evening with their injudicious catcalling and mischief-making. ‘It was breaking the law to make such a racket,’ the composer commented.  
The highbrow 1913 concert that turned into a violent brawl | Classical Music

 

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