It was on this date in 1945 that Anton Webern, living in Allied-occupied Austria, violated curfew by stepping out onto his back porch for a cigar, so as not to disturb his sleeping grandchildren. He was shot and killed by an American soldier. The soldier was so distraught at what he had done, it drove him to alcoholism, and he died in 1955.
The moral of the story: smoking is bad for your health.
Here’s Anton Webern in an early, romantic mode – his “Langsamer Satz” from 1905, performed by the Signum Quartett (slated to appear on a Princeton Symphony Orchestra chamber concert at the Institute for Advanced Study on October 4):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LnE0s2UbkA
From only a few years later, here’s Webern’s “Six Bagatelles,” composed between 1911 and 1913:
Each bagatelle is under 140 notes, so each would qualify as a #quartweet. You can learn more about the Signum Quartett and its #quartweet project – if you happened to miss it the first time – here:
http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2015/08/classical_music_princeton_symp_2.html
PHOTO: Anton Webern: the last smoke was the best
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