[Sound Painting] Kandinsky & Schoenberg - Resonance of Color and Sound

Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) Painter
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) Composer. Both were pioneers who opened up new arts called "abstract art" and "atonal music" in the early 20th century,

emphasized intuition and spiritual expression, and exerted a strong influence on each other.

Encounters and Exchanges

On January 2, 1911, Russian painter Kandinsky was deeply shocked after hearing works such as "String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10" and "Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11" at a concert organized by the 'Society of Artists' in Munich, featuring Schoenberg.

The innovative works of atonal music, freed from traditional tonality, were a shocking concert even for the music world at the time.

The next day, Kandinsky wrote a letter to Schoenberg,
"Your work realizes what I have strongly longed for for many years,"
conveying his deep impression.
Having learned piano and cello as a child, he possessed a sharp sensitivity to music.

This encounter with this music (and musician) was the catalyst for Kandinsky to awaken as an abstract painter. (Although he had begun transitioning to abstract painting around 1908)

Schoenberg: Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11 1909. Known as an important work, it is the first piano piece of "atonal music" freed from traditional tonality. It is characterized by dissonance and sudden rhythms that transcend the framework of harmony and melody, emphasizing free expression.
Premiere: February 4, 1910, Ehrbar-Saal, Vienna (first piece only)

Schoenberg established atonal music (Atonalität), and later created twelve-tone technique (Zwölftontechnik) as a more systematized compositional technique.

Fusion of Music and Painting

Kandinsky, who believed that "inner resonance" and spirituality were essential elements in painting, incorporated music into visual art, and by reflecting musical structure, rhythm, and timbre in his paintings, he visually expressed the emotional impact of music.

By perceiving color as sound, expressing sound through color, and converting rhythm into form, he created color expressions based on sensibility and emotion, much like music.

He also explored the "resonance of color and sound," established abstract painting by liberating color and form as pure expression and eliminating figurative elements.

In his abstract paintings, the resonance of sound appears as the movement of color and form, and the entire canvas flows and pulsates as if it were music.