Austrian composer. He studied under Arnold Schoenberg and developed a personal 12-tone idiom of great emotional and stylistic versatility. His relatively small output includes two operas
Wozzeck (191420), a grim story of working-class life, and the unfinished
Lulu (192935) and chamber music incorporating coded references to friends and family.
His music is emotionally expressive, and sometimes anguished, but it can also be lyrical, as in the violin concerto (1935).
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