In the 1930s composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold was best known for his popular Hollywood film scores. His friend Arnold Schoenberg was known—or notorious—for his avant garde musical experiments. Korngold's son George recalled one lively argument between the two.

Despite their differences, Korngold was always glad to see Scheonberg because he liked the challenge of a good debate. On one occasion Schoenberg, Korngold and conductor Otto Klemperer were talking about serial music . Korngold disagreed with Schoenberg's contention that a series of notes played in reverse had the same theme as the original series.

Growing impatient with Korngold's resistance, Schoenberg held up pencil and asked, “Erich, what's this in my hand?”

Korngold replied, “Obviously it's a pencil.”

Schoenberg turned it upside down so that the eraser was at the bottom. “Now what is it?”

Korngold saw the trap. “It's still a pencil,” he said, “but now you can't write with it.”

Despite their disagreements, though, Korngold was an informed debater. One time an exasperated Schoenberg asked, “Erich, do you like any of my music?” Much to his surprise, Korngold replied by going to the piano and playing from memory a series of little pieces that Schoenberg had written perhaps thirty years before.

Another time Schoenberg came to see Korngold, at the movie studio. Schoenberg sat at the piano to wait. After five or ten minutes he began to doodle on a piece of music paper. When twenty minutes had passed he got up and told Korngold's son, “I can't wait any longer.” He handed the young man the piece of paper and said, “This is for you.” When Korngold saw it, he grinned . Schoenberg had written a double fugue that could be played regardless of which end of the paper you started from.

Arnold Schoenberg and Erich Korngold may've had their differences, but their friendship had a solid base in music.