Schoenberg

Arnold Schoenberg suffered from fear of the number thirteen, also known as triskaidekaphobia. It was an irrational fear that consumed his life, but gave the gift of being very successful in his musical career. He was famous for twelve tone music, and it was his claim to fame. Ironically, with being afraid of the number thirteen, nothing happened to him until his death. Triskaidekaphobia was the source of his twelve tone music, but was supposedly the cause of his ironic death.

Most of us have irrational fears that control our lives at one time or another. For example, I have a fear of clowns. It is still a mystery to me as to where it came from, but some time in my teenage years I developed a fear of clowns. I did not let it control my life like Schoenberg with the fear of the number thirteen, but it made me reluctant to go to a circus. Any time I would see a clown fearful chills would run down my spine. Schoenberg’s fear of the number thirteen made him very successful in the fact that he developed the twelve tone composition method. Nothing like this was ever introduced in the music world, and some of the most interesting compositions exist because of it. However, triskaidekaphobia ultimately claimed Arnold Schoenberg. He died on Friday the thirteenth, July 1951 at the age of seventy six.

An irrational fear of the number thirteen guided Schoenberg to his accomplishments, but got the best of him in the end. However, if it was not for his fear, twelve tone music would not exist. Triskaidekaphobia maybe an irrational fear, but was truly a benefit in the music world.