On 15 September 1945 the composer Anton Webern was shot in confusing circumstances in a small mountain village near Salzburg, and the world lost a composer of extreme originality whose mature music was still almost unknown. When Webern's works did come to light he immediately became one of the most influential figures in music of the second half of this century. This book focuses on several aspects of Webern's life that have been treated only briefly in earlier accounts: his youthful instability, his often embarrassing dependence on Schoenberg, his naive nationalism and his absolute belief in the value of the brief moments of music he produced.