Judaism Revisited: Arnold Schoenberg in Los Angeles

Abstract

Arnold Schoenberg reconverted to Judaism three months prior to his immigration to the United States in 1933, he began a completely new stage in his life in more ways than one.1 After being a follower of Lutheranism for thirty-five years, his decision to return to the faith of his ancestors before departing for the New World was as symbolic as it was significant. That act not only separated his European period from his American period but also had a direct impact on his compositions. In America he hoped to practice his faith as well as compose his music without fear of loss of life or property. He ultimately found that environment in Los Angeles, where he remained from 1934 until his death seventeen years later. In this article I will first discuss Schoenberg's connection to the Jewish community in Los Angeles before considering two pieces that reflected his newly found Jewish roots: the sole liturgical work he wrote in his lifetime, Kol Nidre, Op. 39, and his reaction to the Holocaust, A Survivor From Warsaw, Op. 46. Both pieces formed part of a wider body of work that resulted from Schoenberg's continued involvement with Judaism in the City of the Angels.