Arnold Schönberg
Five Piano Pieces, op. 23/i
First draft. 9 July 1920

At the end of June 1920, Schönberg received a letter from the French musicologist Henry Prunières. The founder of the Revue musicale asked for a musical contribution to a special issue of the magazine, which was to be dedicated to the memory of Claude Debussy. Schönberg soon set to work. Dated July 9, 1920, it is a piano piece that evokes the tone of a Tombeau. The piece begins as a polyphonic setting, the three voices of which contain 21, 20, and 13 tones, respectively, up to bar 6. Already in the penultimate bar of the fourth staff, Schönberg repeats the upper voice in the bass register. Due to changes in octave position and rhythm, however, it is hardly recognisable. Later, all three tone rows are repeated in the same fashion. This is audible at best with very precise knowledge of the piece. The abstract tone sequences underlying the sounds, which can be flexibly combined with individual musical configurations, act as the structural backbone of the composition.