Webern

Anton von Webern (3 December 1883 – 15 December 1945) was an Austrian composer and a central figure of the Second Viennese School, along with Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg. His music is noted for its extreme economy, compressed form, and a highly organized serial approach that helped shape 20th-century composition.

Born in Vienna, Webern studied piano and music theory before becoming a student of Schoenberg. He moved from late Romantic to atonal and eventually serial techniques, exploring how very small musical materials could yield structural unity.

His output includes orchestral, chamber, vocal, and piano works, but he is best known for compact, pointillistic textures and carefully calibrated timbral and rhythmic elements. He often uses a single idea developed across a piece, with close attention to silence and timing.

Webern's influence on later composers and movements was substantial; his rigorous techniques influenced the postwar avant-garde and the development of serial and integral serial music, including composers associated with the Darmstadt School and beyond.

He died in 1945 in Austria.