Josef Matthias Hauer , the first composer/creator of twelve tone music — share the spotlight, Arnold Schoenberg!
Giving credit where credit is due!
When twelve tone music is mentioned, which composer comes to mind? Arnold Schoenberg! Schoenberg is frequently credited for developing the twelve tone technique for music composition.
But there is another composer that I’d like to introduce you to:
Josef Matthias Hauer
You see, Josef Hauer actually developed a twelve tone technique before Schoenberg did… but Hauer is certainly not as well-known as Schoenberg.
For example, in the Concise History of Western Music, by Barbara Hanning, a textbook that is used in some undergraduate music history classes, there is no mention of Josef Hauer.
Hauer’s seeming lack of representation in the history of 20th century music puzzled me. I decided to dig around and see what primary sources (newspaper articles, journal entries, concert programs) I could find on Josef Hauer. The results were fascinating!
A Review of Primary Sources
A search of the the ProQuest Historical Newspapers database, clearly shows Schoenberg’s popularity as compared to Hauer based purely on the number of citations for each composer. Likewise for a search in the London Times newspaper digital archives. But still, there is evidence that Hauer’s music is discussed and performed albeit not as frequently as Schoenberg’s.
Here are a few examples:
There is also a CD of Hauer’s compositions, recorded in 2007:
One search result that I found quite intriguing is that according to a search of their digital archives, the New York Philharmonic has never performed any of Josef Hauer’s works. I wondered why this is so.
There is other evidence that Josef Hauer was an important figure in the creation of the twelve tone technique. The Moldenhauer Archives at the Library of Congress has a wonderful article on Josef Hauer. Here is what the writer has this to say about Josef Hauer and Arnold Schoenberg:
“The writings of both men reveal Hauer’s influence. He is chiefly remembered, however, as a rival of Schoenberg, having developed his own twelve-tone method and begun to publish his findings around 1919, slightly ahead of Schoenberg — a fact that proved particularly irksome to the more well-known composer.”
Other achievements of Josef Hauer include two books that he authored on his twelve tone technique and associated theoretical concepts:
Why is Josef Hauer not as well known as Schoenberg?
I find this perplexing that one twelve tone composer becomes more popular than the original composer/creator of twelve tone music. Why is this so?
I suspect that the main reason is that Josef Hauer utilized a non-traditional music notation system. The Library of Congress feature on Hauer indicates that he used an unconventional staff: “On Hauer’s eight-line staff, all lines represent the black keys of the keyboard while spaces represent the white keys.”
Perhaps if Hauer had used the traditional music notation, more performers and ensembles would be interested in performing his music. Performing twelve tone music can be difficult and adding an additional layer of a foreign musical notation system… well, that complicates matters.
In addition, a review of primary sources indicated that Hauer’s music received mixed reviews. It is difficult to know if this is due to the atonal nature of twelve tone music or if Hauer’s music wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as Schoenberg’s music.
Where do we go from here?
My desire for writing about Josef Matthias Hauer is to bring his name and compositions to the forefront. I believe in giving credit where credit is due and it appears to me that Hauer’s role in the creation of twelve tone music has been glossed over.
I would love to know if any readers have thoughts or insights on this topic!
Josef Matthias Hauer — Zwölftonspiel for Clarinet (1947)
Josef Matthias Hauer: Romantische Phantasie op.37 (1925)
