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Episode details

Radio 3,5 mins

How does Arnold Schoenberg take the fun out of Tiddlywinks?

Afternoon Concert

Available for over a year

Breaking Free: The World of the Second Viennese School in 5 Objects Cards Aptly for a composer who played with the rules of musical form, Schoenberg was a keen games and sports fan. His creativity extended beyond music into the design of several toys including a custom set of tiddlywinks and a wooden forerunner of the Rubik’s Cube. Schoenberg used his skill as a painter to create bespoke sets of playing cards, illustrating one deck in a style reminiscent of Gustav Klimt and the Vienna Secession, and another with a series of comical caricatures depicting grotesquely misshapen heads. (Playing cards) Image used by permission of Belmont Music Publishers, Los Angeles

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