It is well known that Arnold Schönberg was at odds with the conservative spirits of the music business. Less documented are the small, mundane annoyances that even a master composer of his stature had to contend with. The exhibition Visiting Arnold Schönbergin the Schönberg Center, has an exhibit that will make you smile – a letter of complaint written by the twelve-toner in anger about his rented apartment. In February 1910, drafty doors and windows aroused his displeasure, as did the lethargy of the property management. In addition: “The two toilets are draining,” says the letter from Hietzinger Hauptstrasse 113. “I’ve already called the plumber. But he’s not coming.”
