Schönberg's Anti-Spectacular Art Examined in Paris

A major Schönberg season in Paris, organized jointly by the Festival d'Automne, the Théâtre du Châtelet, and the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, is underway. Despite this concentrated programming, Christian Hauer argues that Schönberg's art remains fundamentally anti-spectacular. Hauer's analysis is grounded in the observation that Schönberg was capable of being 'indecent'—a quality that resists easy consumption. The season does not diminish the challenging nature of his work.