Verklärte Nacht

Within three weeks, the 25-year-old Arnold Schönberg composed his string sextet Transfigured Night after falling in love with his future wife Mathilde Zemlinksy in the summer of 1899. It is inspired by Richard Dehmel's poem of the same name.

The sextet op.4 is one of Schönberg's tonal works. It is still firmly rooted in the late Romantic musical tradition, but already bears the signs of the innovations to come. Its premiere in 1902 was met with incomprehension and caused the first scandal in the performance history of Schönberg's works. Today, the ‘Transfigured Night’ is one of his most frequently performed works.

For the first time, a practical new edition based on the text of the Arnold Schönberg Complete Edition is available in modern, legible computer notation.