Alban Berg is the most famous composer of the Second Viennese School. It is he who is considered an innovator in the music of the twentieth century. Berg's work, which was influenced by the late Romantic period, followed the principle of atonality and dodecaphony. Berg's music is close to the musical tradition that R. Kolisch called "Viennese espressivo" (expression).
Sensual fullness of sound, the highest level of expressiveness and the inclusion of tonal complexes characterize his compositions. The composer's penchant for mysticism and theosophy is combined with an insightful and extremely systematic analytics. This is especially evident in his publications on music theory.
The childhood years of the composer Alban Berg
Alban Berg was born on February 9, 1885 in Vienna in a middle-class family. In addition to his passion for literature, BERG simply adored music. His father is a dealer in art and books, and his mother is an unrecognized poetess. It was clear why the boy's literary and musical talent was encouraged from an early age. At the age of 6, the little boy was hired by a music teacher who taught him how to play the piano. Berg took his father's death in 1900 very hard. After this tragedy, he began to suffer from asthma, which tormented him for the rest of his life. The composer began his first independent attempts at composing musical works at the age of 15.
Alban Berg: the fight against depression
1903 - Berg fails his school-leaving certificate and falls into depression. In September, he even attempts suicide. From 1904, he studied for six years with Arnold Schönber (1874–1951), who taught him harmony and composition. It was music lessons that helped him heal his nerves and forget about uninha. The first public performances of Berg's works took place in 1907 at school concerts.
His first work, the Seven Early Songs (1905-1908), still clearly followed the traditions of R. Schumann and G. Mahler. But the piano sonata B. op. 1 (1907-1908) was already oriented towards the compositional innovations of his teacher. His last work under Schoenberg, which already demonstrates clear independence, is the String Quartet, op. 3, composed in 1910. The composition demonstrates an unusual condensation and a weakening of the connection with the major-minor tonality.
Berg Active Learning
After completing high school, Berg studied accounting. In 1906, he began working as an accountant. However, his financial security allowed him to live as a freelance teacher of composition much later. In 1911, he married Helena Nachovsky. Apart from short business trips, Berg always spent time from autumn to spring in Vienna. The rest of the year - in Carinthia and Styria.
During the first two years of training with Schoenberg, BERG was still a civil servant in the lower Austrian lieutenant. And since 1906, he devoted himself exclusively to music. After Schoenberg left Vienna for Berlin in 1911, BERG worked for his teacher and mentor. Among other things, he made a register for writing "Harmonielehre" (1911) and an excellent analytical guide to "Gurre-Lieder".
Alban Berg: return to Vienna
After three years of service in the Austrian army (1915–1918) and the end of World War I, Alban Berg returned to Vienna. There he was offered to become a lecturer at the Association of Private Musical Performances. It was founded by Arnold Schoenberg in his active years of creativity. Until 1921, Berg worked there, developing his musical creativity. The composer's early works mainly consist of chamber music and piano compositions. They were written while still studying with ARNOLD SCHONBERG. The String Quartet op. 3" (1910). It is considered the first extensive work of atonality.
Since 1920, Berg begins a successful journalistic activity. This work brings him fame and a good income. He mainly writes about music and the work of composers of that time. Journalism dragged the musician so much that for a long time he could not decide to continue composing or devote himself entirely to writing music.
Berg's work: active period
In 1914, Berg attends Georg Büchner's Woyzeck. It inspired the composer so much that he immediately decides to write his own music for this play. The work was completed only in 1921.
1922 - The piano reduction of "Woyzeck" is published independently with the financial support of Alma Mahler.
1923 - A contract is signed with Wiener Universal-Edition, which also publishes Berg's early works.
1924 - World premiere of parts of "Woyzeck" in Frankfurt am Main.
1925 - Creation of the Lyric Suite for string quartet, which was premiered on January 8, 1927 by the Kolisch Quartet. World premiere of the opera Woyzeck by Erich Kleiber at the Berlin State Opera.
1926 – “Woyzeck” is performed in Prague, in 1927 – in Leningrad, in 1929 – in Oldenburg.
Berg plays with the idea of setting Gerhart Hauptmann's fairy tale "Und Pippa tanzt" to music.
"Lulu's Song" - Berg's landmark work
In 1928, the composer decided to write music for Frank Wedekind's Lulu. Active work began, which was crowned with great success. In 1930 Berg was appointed a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts. Financial position and fame allowed him to purchase a holiday home on Lake Wörthersee.
In 1933 the "Song of Lulu" was completed. Her first presentation was dedicated to Webern in honor of his 50th birthday.
1934 - In April, Berg completes the short film "Lulu". The world premiere is planned in Berlin with Erich Kleiber. On November 30, the premiere of the symphonic works from the opera "Lulu" by Erich Kleiber takes place at the Berlin State Opera.
The last years of creativity
1935 — A break in work on the opera Lulu. From April to August, Berg works on the violin concerto Memory of an Angel for Manon Gropius, Alma Mahler's deceased daughter. This two-part work, divided into different tempos, follows the thematic ideas of the requiem. As a solo concert, it is the first concert based on the consistent use of a single twelve-tone row. Alban Berg does not live to see the premiere on 19 April 1936 in Barcelona.
Berg was unable to complete his second opera, Lulu, until his death. The Austrian composer Friedrich Cerha added a 3rd act, and the 3-act version was first performed on 24 February 1979 in Paris.
In 1936, the violin concerto premiered in Barcelona with violinist Louis Krasner and conductor Hermann Scherchen.
On December 24, 1935, Berg dies of furunculosis in his native Vienna.
