Biblioteca de la Guitarra y Cuerda Pulsada

Sechs Kleine Klavierstücke (Six little piano pieces), Op. 19 by Arnold Schoenberg, arranged by Calum Borthwick, and performed by Derelict Hands.

Sechs Kleine Klavierstucke (1913) for solo piano is one of the composer’s earliest atonal works, made of six short miniatures, each with its own unique character, in fact the sixth movement is considered by some musicologists to be an homage to Mahler, who died shortly before Schoenberg completed the Klavierstucke. While the work is atonal, one can clearly hear harmonic relationships, melodies, and motives appear throughout. I (Calum) chose to arrange this work after studying, and writing about it, for a post-tonal analysis class during my masters degree at the Lamont School of Music. I was familiar with the composer’s later twelve-tone compositions but had not heard his atonal works that predate the creation of the twelve-tone technique and became fascinated with the harmonies and melodies Schoenberg created using a completely original musical language.

The artwork in the video was commissioned from Elizabeth Hilliard.

Calum Borthwick plays on a Vasquez Rubio guitar, and Russ Callison on a Wood Ring guitar.