Vier Stucke fur Geige und Klavier, Op. 7

Four pieces for violin and piano, Op. 7, composed 1910 and published 1922. Written in Webern's early free-atonal period (before his adoption of twelve-tone technique), these four miniatures are among the most extreme and influential examples of musical compression in the 20th century: together they last barely five minutes, yet each is formally complete and expressively concentrated. The first piece is the longest (about 90 seconds); the others are progressively shorter. The work had a decisive influence on the development of musical miniaturism and on composers including Feldman, Nono, and Lachenmann.