Alban Berg

[HaydnFan]

Hi Everyone,

What do you think of Alban Berg? I have heard some of his music and it is very strange to me but also intriguing...

And thoughts?...

[Peter]

Many rave about his violin concerto but I admit it simply isn't me. I've tried!

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'Man know thyself'

[HaydnFan]

It's the very thing that I am listening to and in a way, it isn't me either (obviously, I am into Haydn and Mozart) but I am sort of liking it...

[Sorrano]

Berg was a student of Schoenberg and, in my opinion, a more successful composer of dodecaphonic music. The Violin Concerto is one of his more accessible works, as well as Wozzek and Lulu. I've not listened accessively to his music but I like what I have heard.

[Roehre]

Berg's whole offical output fits on 8 CDs, of which 4 for the two operas Wozzeck and Lulu.

If you would like to connect Berg with Beethoven, listen to the 1st mvt of the Hammerklavier, and then listen to the Pianosonata opus 1 by Berg (the whole sonata, in one mvt, lasts for 11 minutes only).
If you know your late Beethoven quartets well, then the quartet opus 3 (2 mvts, some 18 minutes) offers a glimpse into Berg's world.

Apart from these and the violin concerto I would like to recommend especially the Lulu-symphony (a kind of suite from the opera Lulu) as a starter.

[Sorrano]

Are his complete works, then available, as a set?

[Roehre]

Are his complete works, then available, as a set?

Yes, DGG has a Complete Works on the shelves: DGG 474 657-2