To illustrate the progressiveness of Brahms harmonic style, Arnold Schönberg often cited his C minor String Quartet, Op.51. Brahms innovative variation technique and phrase structure were clearly among the key influences on Schönberg s sextet Verklärte Nacht, an intensely emotional work inspired by a Richard Dehmel poem that caused great controversy at the time because of the sexual nature of its subject matter. The Amsterdam Sinfonietta performs Schönberg s arrangement of the work for string orchestra, paired with an arrangement of Brahms Op.51 by Marijn van Prooijen.