Anton Webern (1883-1945) was an Austrian composer and conductor, and one of the central members of the Second Viennese School with Schoenberg and Berg. Born in Vienna, he studied musicology and composition before developing one of the most compressed languages in modern music.

His works include orchestral pieces, songs, chamber music, piano variations and cantatas. Many are brief, but their concentration is extraordinary.

Webern’s music is spare, pointillistic and intensely organised, often using twelve-tone technique with jewel-like precision. Silence and colour are as important as pitch and rhythm.

His influence after the Second World War was immense, especially among serial and avant-garde composers. Webern’s music is tiny in surface area and enormous in gravitational pull.