The Resume

(September 13, 1874-July 13, 1951)
Born in Vienna, Austria
Developed the twelve-tone method of composing
Works include 'Pelleas and Melisande' (1902), 'Five Pieces for Orchestra' (1909), 'Gurre Lieder' (1911), 'Pierrot Lunaire' (1912), 'From Today to Tomorrow' (1928), 'Moses and Aron' (1932) and 'A Survivor from Warsaw' (1947)

Why he might be annoying:

The premier performance of his 'Verklarte Nacht' (1902) triggered a near riot by the audience.
He said of one violin concerto, 'I am delighted to add another unplayable work to the repertoire.'
His prediction 'One day, milkmen will whistle my tunes like Puccini's' did not come true. (Except in the sense that most milkmen these days don't whistle Puccini either.)
He was such a triskaidekaphobe that he changed Aaron's name so that 'Moses and Aron' would not have a thirteen-letter title.

Why he might not be annoying:

He influenced modern composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage.
Settling in Los Angeles after fleeing Nazi Germany, he became good friends (and a frequent tennis partner) with George Gershwin.
He was a painter whose pictures were good enough to be exhibited alongside those of Wassily Kandinsky.
Since he died at 13 minutes before midnight on Friday the 13th, maybe his triskaidekaphobia was not just a silly superstition.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• An Asteroid was Named in My Honor (Ranked: 4527)
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 18]
• Fear of the Number Thirteen - Triskaidekaphobic
• I am a Jew who Converted to Christianity
• I am a Lutheran
• I am from Vienna, Austria
• I Died in 1951 (Ranked: 76)
• I Died on Friday the 13th (Ranked: 1951)
• I Have Asthma
• I'm Buried at Zentralfriedhof [Central Cemetary] in Vienna, Austria
• Look at My Blackboard or Whiteboard
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 2007)
• Opera Singers and Composers
• Painters
• Profiles 25001-25250 (Ranked: 25079)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 86.67% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 18 Votes: 72.22% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 27 Votes: 59.26% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 10 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 11 Votes: 90.91% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 83 Votes: 54.22% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 153 Votes: 50.98% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 31 Votes: 64.52% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 50 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 24 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 41 Votes: 53.66% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 1005 Votes: 69.95% Annoying