Many features of Schoenberg's music cannot be understood without Mahler. Schoenberg, however, usually goes beyond his predecessor. The clarity of each voice in the orchestral texture is clearly based on Mahler and the concept of beginning a piece tonally and ending atonally is derived from Mahler's way of starting a work in one key and finishing it in another.

Works: Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 2, Gurre-Lieder.

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Andreas Giger