... natural evolution of that very tradition reached the point where tonality no longer served the artistic purposes of the composers, the public often shunned the later developments and retreated back towards familiar territory. The emergence composers Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951) and Igor Stravinsky (1881-1971) are human examples of the evolution of concepts over time. The works of Schönberg and Stravinsky are firmly rooted within the tonal tradition. These men were placed within a unique position within history and as such granted an opportunity to change the whole nature of composition. Although the musical world would later "polarize" with respect to Stravinsky and Schönberg's respective schools of composition, the underlying principles from which their compositions sprang share marked similarities. Arnold Schönberg was born on September 13, 1874 in a suburb of Vienna (Reich 1). Schönberg recounts his early years and describes an early start to his compositional career, As a child less than nine ...

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