Berg and Schoenberg

Extract

Biographies should be read with discretion. The portraits which they are meant to present are far too often created in the writer's own image. The tales they tell are usually lopsided and lack that depth of perspective which shows the whole of a character, with its contradictory features and its facets of changing inclinations and opinions. I for one prefer first-hand information, such as is contained in autobiographies—even if some of their facts should prove to be fiction, the way of telling them mirrors the author. In a sense, all creative artists are autobiographers. Composers, in particular, cannot help revealing themselves in their works. Schoenberg claimed that he, being a teacher of composition, had a rare opportunity of getting to know his students: the music they wrote disclosed not only their gifts, but also their characters.