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Alban Berg

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Alban Berg was born in 1885 in Vienna and lived there all his life. He began composing at fifteen. Between 1904 and 1911 he had lessons from Arnold Schoenberg, who belonged to the Second Viennese School. His father died in 1900, after which the family fell into financial difficulty. Berg moved in the cultural elite of Vienna around 1900, with painters, writers and architects such as Gustav Klimt, Karl Kraus and Adolf Loos. In 1913 a concert with his Altenberg Lieder led to a riot, the notorious Skandalkonzert.

Music and breakthrough

His best-known works are the operas Wozzeck, completed in 1922 and first performed in Berlin in 1925, and Lulu, on which he worked from 1928 and which was completed after his death. He also wrote the Lyric Suite from 1926, the Kammerkonzert and a violin concerto, written in 1935, the year of his death. Berg died of blood poisoning on 24 December 1935. The violin concerto bears the subtitle Dem Andenken eines Engels.

Influence

Berg combined the Romantic lyricism of Mahler with the twelve-tone technique of Schoenberg. His music is therefore regarded as more human and more emotional than that of his teacher. He left behind a relatively small body of work, but is regarded as one of the most important composers of the twentieth century. That is due to his expressive style, which connects atonality and feeling without the listener needing to know the theory.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to the beginning of the Andante from the Violin Concerto and notice how the soloist enters softly and singingly. Try to hear how tragic and yet lyrical the melody sounds, despite the twelve-tone technique.

Discography

Studio albums

Mentioned in other articles

See also

Categories: ArtistsAtonality and twelve-tone music