Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg and Anton Webern are commonly grouped together as the ‘Second Viennese School’, with Berg and Webern – notwithstanding their own monumental contributions to twentieth-century music – frequently relegated to Schoenberg’s students, or even ‘disciples’. This chapter locates Berg and Webern in the huge shadow of their teacher and mentor, and considers the possibility that the Schoenberg–Webern–Berg trinity obscures a number of meaningful differences and antagonisms – musical and personal – between the three composers, and that Webern and Berg, as Schoenberg’s perpetual pupils, have become subordinate – ‘other’ – to the master in the discourses of musicology and music criticism. At the same time, it is clear that the members of the Second Viennese School – coming from a common cultural history and social and artistic milieu – understood themselves to have a unified vision for art and a shared sense of purpose.

This chapter considers the crucial role Alexander Zemlinsky played in exposing Central European audiences to the music of Schoenberg and other musical modernists. From the early years in Vienna, through his tenures in Prague and Berlin and up to his emigration to the United States, Zemlinsky consistently programmed new works as a conductor and offered practical assistance and spiritual camaraderie behind the scenes. He was also an inspiring figure as a teacher and composer, first for Schoenberg and later for their many mutual students and colleagues. Despite various strains and breaks in their personal relationship, Zemlinsky remained a steadfast public ally for Schoenberg and members of his circle, sharing in and preparing the way for their struggles and successes.