No composer has been at once more despised, revered, controversial, and ultimately, more influential than Arnold Schoenberg. MY WAR YEARS centers on the explosive years, 1906 to 1923, when Schoenberg single-handedly transformed the language of music itself. During these years he braved bitter poverty and isolation — the fate of a revolutionary in a conservative world. His concerts resulted in riots, fist-fights, and challenges to duels. Schoenberg composed some of the greatest music of all time.

MY WAR YEARS interweaves dramatic and documentary technique to capture the flavor of these remarkable times. Location footage in Vienna and the Austrian countryside combines with archival film and re-enacted 'home-movies.' Such luminaries as Anton Webern, Alban Berg, Alma Mahler, and Wassily Kandinsky are brought back from the mists of time to speak directly to the camera about their own experiences with this musical giant.