Arnold Schoenberg was arguably the central musical personality of the 20th century, whose innovative, uncompromising musical language opened up new possibilities for composers and influenced generations of musicians and listeners. There are those who contend that Schoenberg's uncompromising approach is the main cause of the isolation of avant-garde music in the late 20th century, but the author here argues that these accusations are frequently made before Schoenberg’s music has even had a chance to present itself – its difficulty and strangeness are uncritically evoked, often preventing the music from being appreciated in its own right. In this book, Bujic sets out to win more listeners to Schoenberg’s music by introducing his life, work and theories in an accessible, sympathetic manner. "Includes rare and revealing illustrations... A sane and sensitive biography... A readable illustrated biography of Schoenberg is such an obvious idea what one wonders why it has taken so long for one to appear."- BBC Music