Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (Dec. 3, 1883 - Sept. 15, 1945) was an Austrian composer and conductor. Along with Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg, Webern was a key figure in the Second Viennese School.

Webern attended Vienna University in 1902, where he studied musicology with Guido Adler. It's said that Adler encouraged Webern to take composition lessons with Schoenberg, which he did, and in 1908, his Passacaglia op. 1 was his graduation work. Around this time, he met Alban Berg, and along with Schoenberg, formed some of the most important relationships in his life.

Webern's compositions are few; just 31, to be exact. They are largely atonal, and many works were profoundly influenced by Schoenberg. Entflieht auf leichten Kähnen was his second work, written in 1908. Based on a poem by Stefan George, the work is for unaccompanied choir. The poem is in three parts, and so Webern wrote three connecting sections. The work begins with an ascending chromatic line, and throughout the work, Webern has lots of hairpin dynamics (crescendos followed by decrescendos, or vice versa), and goes as far to write ppp, wanting things to be very, very soft. The chromaticism plus the varied dynamics throughout give the piece an other-worldy sense, and is aurally intriguing.

Here's a recording of this piece for you to enjoy!

Complete Webern