Faculty concert to feature work of Arnold Schoenberg

On Friday the Stars at Night Faculty Showcase will premiere “Innovation through Music: Pierrot Lunaire” by Arnold Schoenberg at 7:30 p.m. in  the Performing  Arts Center.  One of Schoenberg’s most celebrated works, it is based on the poems of a Belgian dramatist, Albert Giraud.    

“In many ways it is still innovative for the 20th and 21st century,” says conductor Dr. Jonathan Babcock. “It is still challenging. It is still avant-garde.”  This performance will be in English, and not the original German, Babcock says.  

For this work, Schoenberg developed an innovative style of vocal delivery he called sprechstimme or speaking voice. There are three parts to the piece, which premiered in Berlin in 1912, each has seven poems for a total of 21. Each  poem has seven stanzas.  Babcock explains that Austrian-born Schoenberg was really into numerology. "I can’ t think of any composer who was more innovative than Schoenberg,” Babcock says. In the 1920s Schoenberg was known for developing  the twelve-tone technique.

“Pierrot Lunaire” is  more atonal. “It doesn’t follow the rules, and it doesn’t lead our ears where we expect them to go,” Babcock says. “It’s not Mozart.”   

Before the concert begins, there will be a short presentation by Dr. Michael Ippolito, head of the composition department. The performance itself is 36 minutes.  

Texas State faculty members include Babcock;  Myra Vassian, as the narrator; Dr. Adah Jones, flute; Anguel Tanguerov, clarinet; Dr. Lynn Ledbetter, violin; and  Dr. Joey Martin, piano. Tony Rogers is filling in for Dr. Karla Hamelin, who was sidelined with an illness.  

Admission is free for Texas State students, tickets are available at txstatepresents.com.