Alban Maria Johannes Berg (pronounced /bɛərɡ/ BAIRG; Austrian German: [ˈalbaːn ˈbɛrg]; February 9, 1885 – December 24, 1935) was an Austrian composer from the Second Viennese School. His music combined Romantic emotional expression with a method called the twelve-tone technique. Even though he created relatively few works, he is remembered as one of the most important composers of the 20th century because his music expressed deep emotions and complex structures.

Berg was born and lived in Vienna. He started composing music at age fifteen. Between 1904 and 1911, he studied subjects like counterpoint, music theory, and harmony with Arnold Schoenberg. He learned and used Schoenberg's methods of developing variation and the twelve-tone technique. Berg's major works include the operas Wozzeck (1925) and Lulu (1935, completed after his death), chamber music pieces such as the Lyric Suite and Chamber Concerto, and a Violin Concerto. He also wrote many songs called lieder. His music is known for adding more "human values" to the twelve-tone system, making his works feel more "emotional" than Schoenberg's. Berg's music had an appealing surface that attracted many admirers, even though Schoenberg himself had few.

Life and career

There are things that cannot be measured by nature's standards—things that come only from the human spirit, rising above the material world. These things are real only because we long for them. When beautiful and wise things we desire become real, they are not things we can hold or count, as Otto Ernst said. Music is like this, as are many literary works written from a heart full of longing. Now, I will talk about A Doll's House.

Berg wrote in a free and expressive way to share his thoughts about Ibsen’s A Doll’s House with Watznauer on October 18, 1906. He quoted from Ernst’s Meersymphonie to connect music with dreams, fantasies, and feelings, especially those that are not real but universal. These themes appear in Berg’s music, which often reflects personal experiences and social, political, or emotional ideas. For example, his Lyric Suite shows romantic feelings, Lulu explores social themes, Wozzeck deals with political issues, and his Violin Concerto touches on death. In contrast, Webern, who also studied with Schoenberg in 1904, said during an evening with Mahler in 1905: "Nature is for us the model."

Berg was born in Vienna, the third of four children of Johanna and Konrad Berg. His father ran a successful export business, and the family owned land in Vienna and the countryside. After Konrad Berg died in 1900, the family’s money problems worsened, especially for young Berg, who had to repeat sixth and seventh grades to pass exams. His close friend and early biographer, Hermann Watznauer, became a father figure to him. Berg wrote Watznauer long, dramatic letters with unusual punctuation. As a child, Berg preferred literature over music and considered becoming a writer. He slowly turned to music, beginning to compose at age 15 after teaching himself. He also took piano lessons from his sister’s governess. Berg had a daughter, Albine, with Marie Scheuchl, a maid in the family estate in Carinthia.

In 1906, Berg met Helene Nahowski, a singer from a wealthy family. Despite her family’s disapproval, they married in 1911, though her father insisted on a Protestant ceremony to make divorce easier.

With little formal music training, Berg began studying counterpoint, music theory, and harmony with Arnold Schoenberg in October 1904. By 1906, he studied music full-time and started composition lessons in 1907. His early works included five piano sonata drafts and songs, such as Seven Early Songs, three of which were first performed in a concert in Vienna.

Berg’s early sketches led to his Piano Sonata, Op. 1, published in 1910 and likely composed between 1908 and 1909. It is considered one of the most challenging first works ever written. Berg studied with Schoenberg for six years until 1911. Schoenberg taught that a musical piece should come from a single basic idea, a concept called developing variation. Berg passed this idea to his students, including Theodor W. Adorno, who said: "The main principle was that everything should develop from something else but remain different." The Piano Sonata follows this idea, as the whole piece comes from the opening musical gesture and phrase.

Berg was part of Vienna’s cultural elite during the late 1800s. His circle included musicians like Alexander von Zemlinsky and Franz Schreker, painter Gustav Klimt, writer Karl Kraus, architect Adolf Loos, and poet Peter Altenberg.

In 1913, two of Berg’s Altenberg Lieder (1912) premiered in Vienna, conducted by Schoenberg in the controversial Skandalkonzert. These songs, set to short poetic lines, used a large orchestra. The performance caused a disturbance and was stopped. Berg withdrew the work, and it was not performed in full until 1952. The full score was published

Legacy

Alban Berg is remembered as one of the most important composers of the 20th century and the most widely performed opera composer among the Second Viennese School. His music is said to have added more "human values" to the twelve-tone system, and his works are often described as more "emotional" than those of Schoenberg. Experts note that Berg helped keep the musical traditions of Vienna alive in his compositions.

Douglas Jarman, a Berg scholar, wrote in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians that as the 20th century ended, Berg, once seen as looking backward, suddenly appeared to be one of the most forward-thinking composers of the time, as noted by George Perle.

The Alban Berg Foundation, started by Berg’s wife in 1969, works to keep his memory and music alive. It also gives scholarships to students. A monument in his honor, placed near the Vienna State Opera and unveiled in 2016, was funded by the Foundation.

The Alban Berg Quartett was a string quartet named after him. It was active from 1971 to 2008.

An asteroid named 4528 Berg was discovered in 1983 and is named in his honor.