Alban Berg
Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School.
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Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively small oeuvre, he is remembered as one of the most important composers of the 20th century for his expressive style encompassing 'entire worlds of emotion and structure'.
- born
- 9 February 1885
- died
- 24 December 1935
- field
- Composition
- nationality
- Austrian
- known_for
- Operas Wozzeck and Lulu, Lyric Suite, Violin Concerto, twelve-tone technique
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Berg was born and lived in Vienna, the third of four children of Johanna and Konrad Berg. His father ran a successful export business, but after Konrad's death in 1900 the family's financial situation turned to the worse. Berg began to compose at age fifteen, teaching himself music, and studied counterpoint, music theory, and harmony with Arnold Schoenberg from October 1904 until 1911. He adopted Schoenberg's principles of developing variation and the twelve-tone technique. With Marie Scheuchl, a maid in the family estate of Berghof, Berg fathered a daughter, Albine, born 4 December 1902. He married singer Helene Nahowski on 3 May 1911. Berg served in the Austro-Hungarian Army from 1915 to 1918. His major works include the operas Wozzeck (1914–1922) and Lulu (from 1928, finished posthumously), the Lyric Suite (1926), Chamber Concerto (1923–25), and Violin Concerto (1935). He also composed a number of songs (lieder). Berg died from sepsis in Vienna on 24 December 1935. His music is said to have brought more 'human values' to the twelve-tone system, and his works are seen as more 'emotional' than those of Schoenberg.
Reader's Guide
Berg's significance lies in his synthesis of Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique, creating an expressive style that won him admirers when Schoenberg himself had few. His opera Wozzeck, completed in 1922 and first performed on 14 December 1925 under Erich Kleiber in Berlin, is seen as one of the century's most important works. Berg's music had a surface glamour that broadened the audience for modernist composition. He had a particular interest in the number 23, using it to structure several works. The Lyric Suite (1926) was later shown to employ elaborate cyphers to document a secret love affair, and the Chamber Concerto (1923–25) is permeated by cyphers and posthumously disclosed hidden programs. The Violin Concerto (1935), dedicated 'to the memory of an Angel' (Manon Gropius), employs an idiosyncratic adaptation of the twelve-tone technique that enables passages openly evoking tonality, including quotations of a Bach chorale and a Carinthian folk song. Despite a small output, his influence endures through his emotional directness and structural rigor.
Did You Know?
- Berg fathered a daughter, Albine, born 4 December 1902, with Marie Scheuchl, a maid in the family estate of Berghof who was fifteen years his senior.
- Berg had a particular interest in the number 23, using it to structure several works; he may have taken it from the biorhythms theory of Wilhelm Fliess, or because he first suffered an asthma attack on the 23rd of the month.
- The premiere of two of Berg's Altenberg Lieder in 1913 caused a riot and had to be halted; the work was not performed in full until 1952.
- Berg's Violin Concerto was dedicated 'to the memory of an Angel', Manon Gropius, the deceased daughter of architect Walter Gropius and Alma Mahler.
- Berg died from blood poisoning caused by a furuncle on his back, induced by an insect sting that occurred in November 1935.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Alban Berg?
Alban Berg (1885–1935) was an Austrian composer closely linked to the Second Viennese School alongside Schoenberg and Webern. He is best remembered for fusing lush Romantic melody with the twelve-tone method his mentor pioneered.
What are Alban Berg's most famous works?
His operas Wozzeck and Lulu, the Lyric Suite for string quartet, and the Violin Concerto are the pieces most frequently performed and studied. Together they showcase his gift for pairing extreme emotional expression with rigorous structural design.
What makes Berg's compositional style unique?
Unlike the more austere members of the Second Viennese School, Berg wove traditional tonal gestures and Romantic lyricism into his twelve-tone writing. This hybrid approach lets his music convey what critics have called 'entire worlds of emotion and structure' while still engaging with the new atonal language of the era.
Why is Alban Berg considered important despite a small body of work?
Although he died at only fifty and left a comparatively limited catalogue, his operas and chamber works set a benchmark for expressive modernism that influenced generations of later composers. His ability to make twelve-tone technique feel dramatically and emotionally immediate gave the method a far broader audience than pure serialism alone might have achieved.
How did Alban Berg's life end?
Berg contracted a fatal insect-bite infection in 1935 while traveling in the United States and died on 24 December of that year. His death at age fifty cut short a career that, despite its brevity, had already reshaped twentieth-century compositional practice.
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