Founded in November 1918 by Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) and a few of his confidants, the Association for Private Musical Performances constituted perhaps the most progressive and most intensive opportunity for a select Viennese musical circle to familiarize themselves with contemporary and the latest works of the international composers’ scene in the immediate aftermath of the First World War and hence at the time of a dearth of a cultural spirit of optimism and innovation. Schoenberg had a close personal tie with many of the composers performed at the association concerts and sometimes even an amical one, as in the case of Zemlinsky. The association became a nursery for the entire modern music from Richard Strauss and Debussy to Webern, as far as the instrumentation of the works allowed.
