Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4

Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4, string sextet for two violins, two violas, and two cellos by Austrian-born American composer Arnold Schoenberg that dates to 1899, before he adopted the 12-tone method of composition that became his signature. It is a highly romantic piece and, as such, is easily the composer’s most-performed piece.

Verklärte Nacht is a tone poem—that is, an instrumental composition with plot content—in the tradition of Franz Liszt’s Les Préludes and Richard Strauss’s Don Juan. Schoenberg’s piece differs from its models in that it is a chamber piece, not an orchestral work. Years later, in 1917, Schoenberg crafted a new arrangement for string orchestra including basses, though still without winds or percussion.

Although Verklärte Nacht has a plot, it does not portray anything more than a walk and a conversation. Rather, Schoenberg drew inspiration from Richard Dehmel’s poem of the same name, published in the collection Weib und Welt (1896; “Woman and World”), which was in essence a psychological portrait. The poem’s essence concerns acceptance and understanding. A couple is walking in the night. They are in love, but the woman is pregnant with the child of another man, not her present lover. She fears that her lover will condemn her and abandon her, yet the beauty of the evening and the intensity of their love overcome their difficulties. “Oh look,” the man exclaims, “how the universe glitters!” and their lives are transfigured by the night.

Cast in a single extended movement with several tempi, the work opens with a tentative mood, built upon a repeated falling phrase. First heard in the lower strings, then reappearing in the higher strings, its gentle pace offers a mood of deep poignancy. Restless phrases of almost dissonant harmony appear as the woman confesses her condition. The work ultimately builds to a prolonged viola solo of impassioned regret, but calm returns with serene lines for the full ensemble. Although it was originally scored as a string sextet, the work is often performed with a full string orchestra.