By transcribing and indexing Schönberg’s calendars from 1948 and 1949, which can now be viewed in the image archive, we continue the insight into Schönberg’s daily and weekly routines. Since 1936 the composer lived in Brentwood, Los Angeles.

After he retired from his professorship at UCLA, Schönberg traveled only sporadically. One of these trips took him to Santa Barbara in the summer of 1948, where he taught and lectured for several weeks at the Music Academy of the West. In an interview with a local editor, he spoke about the need for fundamentally educating the audience in the interests of opening their ears to New Music.

”In my teaching work,” he said, ”I emphasize ear training. The music student needs most to learn to be correctly receptive. We cannot teach everyone to be a creative artist – that cannot be taught. But we can teach many people to be receptive listeners. What we need in all the arts, is a great number of good amateurs. The greatest periods of creative music were those in which there were thousands of accomplished amateurs, though relatively few professionals.”

In the journalist’s opinion, throughout the discussion the composer certainly seemed open, even to “good popular music […]. Despite his 73 years, and his eminence as a composer and musicologist, Schoenberg is far from the ‘old fogey’ in his musical tastes.”

Accordingly, this article is illustrated with the photograph of a visiting professor, standing beneath palms and radiating the best of moods.

Donald D. Scofield: Learn to Hear, Says Composer, in: Santa Barbara News-Press (July 18, 1948)