The phrase “Die Brettl, die Musik bedeuten” uses Brettl in its historical Viennese sense: it refers to the (cabaret) stage—the small “Brettl-Bühne” where songs, satire, and sharp social observation were performed up close.

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Die Brettl, die Musik bedeuten
8 April 2026 · 18:30
Arnold Schönberg Center, Zaunergasse 1–3, 1030 Vienna

Cornelia Horak, soprano
Foivos Kyriakoudis, piano
Nathan Meltzer, violin
Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz, recitation & host

Arnold Schönberg, Alexander Zemlinsky: Brettl songs
Aliayta Foon-Dancoes: Schwarzes Mädchen (Austrian premiere)
Works by Edmund Eysler, Fritz Kreisler, Franz Lehár, and Robert Stolz
Texts by Fritz Grünbaum

The correspondences between Schönberg and Fritz Grünbaum, one of the leading cabaret artists of the era, go beyond mere contemporaneity. Schönberg composed—like Alexander Zemlinsky— “Brettl-Lieder” [Cabaret Songs] and was by no means averse to the high-quality operetta for which Grünbaum wrote numerous libretti. Their artistic interests also converged in the visual arts: Schönberg was an aspiring painter, while Grünbaum was one of the most important art collectors of his time.

The concert will be broadcast live on Facebook and YouTube and will be available for seven days afterwards.

An Event by the Fischer Grünbaum Foundation
In Cooperation with the Arnold Schönberg Center

Tickets available: https://schoenberg.at/de/veranstaltungen/aktuelle-veranstaltungen/3792/die-brettl-die-musik-bedeuten#anmeldung
Infos in german: https://schoenberg.at/de/veranstaltungen/aktuelle-veranstaltungen/3792/die-brettl-die-musik-bedeuten