Schoenberg's Weltanschauung and His View of Music, 1874-1915

Raised an Orthodox Jew, Schoenberg converted to Christianity in his mid-twenties. Expressionism, mysticism, and German idealists such as Kant and Schopenhauer also heavily influenced his religious and philosophical ideas; consequently, Schoenberg sought to define music's role in man's spiritual development. Having studied such topics as the nature of music, the creative process, harmony, and musical perception, he reached the conclusion that music's purpose was to enable man to achieve unity with God. [RILM]