Composer and developer of the Atonal System, which was badly received at first. His works include "Guirrelieder" and "Five Orchestral Pieces". Though born into an Orthodox family in Vienna, he was influenced by Mahler and converted to Christianity in 1898. In response to the anti- Semitic atmosphere in Germany he returned to Judaism in 1933 in a formal religious ceremony and soon after, left for the United States. While in the States he was active in helping German Jewish refugees. Schoenberg also became a staunch Zionist and if not for his health would have taken the position of Director of the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem.