{"id":1624112,"date":"2025-05-22T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nybooks.com\/?post_type=article&#038;p=1624112"},"modified":"2025-05-22T16:28:27","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T20:28:27","slug":"the-atonal-genie-arnold-schoenberg-why-he-matters_2025-06-12","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.nybooks.com\/articles\/2025\/06\/12\/the-atonal-genie-arnold-schoenberg-why-he-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"The Atonal Genie"},"content":{"rendered":"A hijacked New York City subway train packed with petrified passengers is hurtling toward the South <div class=\"leaky_paywall_message_wrap\"><div id=\"leaky_paywall_message\">\t<div class=\"paywall\" id=\"paywall-a\">\n\t\t<div class=\"fadeout\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"paywall-content text-center pb-xs-14\">\n\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\t\tloading=\"lazy\"\n\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.nybooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Sub_PrintDigital_11062022-72ppi.jpg?w=200\"\n\t\t\t\tsrcset=\"https:\/\/www.nybooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Sub_PrintDigital_11062022-72ppi.jpg?w=200 200w, https:\/\/www.nybooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Sub_PrintDigital_11062022-72ppi.jpg?w=400 400w\"\n\t\t\t\tsizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 200px, 400px\"\n\t\t\t\talt=\"New York Review in various formats\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"paywall-img mb-xs-3\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"text-xs-20 text-lg-30 mb-xs-1 color-ny-red font-giza\">Continue reading <br\/>for just $1.00 per issue!<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"text-xs-16 mb-xs-2\">Choose a Digital subscription or our best deal \u2013 All Access \u2013 that includes print and digital issues, full archive access, and the NYR App!<\/p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/subscribe.nybooks.com\/ecom\/nyb\/app\/live\/subscriptions?org=NYB&publ=NY&key_code=EPMXM01&type=S\" class=\"button font-giza bg-ny-red color-white hover-text-white hover-expand sign-in-subscribe text-xs-16 mb-xs-3 paywall-offer\"><span>View Offers<\/span><\/a>\n\t\t\t<hr class=\"mt-xs-0 mb-xs-3\"\/>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"text-xs-16 mb-xs-2\">Or\u00a0register\u00a0for a free account to read just this article. <a href=\"\/account\/register\/?level_id=0\" id=\"register\">Register<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"text-label color-gray mb-0\">Already a subscriber? <a href=\"\/account\/signin\/\" class=\"paywall-signin color-gray\">Sign in<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"paywall\" id=\"paywall-b\">\n\t\t<div class=\"fadeout\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"paywall-content text-center pb-xs-14\">\n\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\t\tloading=\"lazy\"\n\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.nybooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/PrintandDigital-2x_FreeNotebk_02112021-B.jpg?w=200\"\n\t\t\t\tsrcset=\"https:\/\/www.nybooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/PrintandDigital-2x_FreeNotebk_02112021-B.jpg?w=200 200w, https:\/\/www.nybooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/PrintandDigital-2x_FreeNotebk_02112021-B.jpg?w=400 400w\"\n\t\t\t\tsizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 200px, 400px\"\n\t\t\t\talt=\"\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"paywall-img mb-xs-3\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"text-xs-20 text-lg-30 mb-xs-1 color-ny-red font-giza\">Continue reading for just $1 an issue and get a FREE notebook! 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