Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Considered by many to be the most accessible of the Schoenberg-influenced composers who comprised the second Viennese school, Alban Berg demonstrated the possibilities of the twelve-tone system as an expansion of traditional methods. This volume presents essays written by leading American and British scholars that discuss Berg's life and cultural environment, his style and technique, and his unfinished second opera Lulu.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

(This book was reviewed jointly with Theodor W. Adorno's Alban Berg, Master of the Smallest Link, CH, Jul'92). There is a notable serependity in the concurrent arrival of these books, Adorno's, written between 1936 and 1968 and published in German as Berg (Vienna, 1968), and a series of eight papers given in 1985 at the University of Chicago's commemoration of the centenary of Berg's birth and the fiftieth year of his death. Adorno is mentioned many times in the latter essays, including some half dozen citations from the book under review, which is now presented in English for the first time, in a felicitous translation. Adorno begins with a "Reminiscence," recalling, discretely, his acquaintance with his mentor from the time of their meeting in 1924, through his time as a pupil, and continuing with their friendship for the remainder of Berg's life. His comments on Berg's feelings about many contemporary composers, although not extensive, are telling. There follow 13 analyses and commentaries on virtually all of Berg's works except the Violin Concerto, which Adorno covered extensively in a 1963 publication. Adorno brings a distinctive, if not unique, view to his discussions, given his friendship with the composer, his own musical avocation, and his philosophical vocation. This is a major addition to the Berg bibliography. The eight essays of the 1985 commemoration plus two more written especially for this publication are organized into three loosely titled groups: "Life and Environment" (two essays), and "Style and Technique" and "Lulu Topics" (four each). Several of the style/techniques essays deal with aspects of Wozzeck, so that the imbalance between the two operas is not so great as first appears. The essays range from the quite accessible to the highly technical. The authors are all well-established musicologists/theorists with proven records in Berg studies. Their comments do not cover the range of works that Adorno does, nor does any one essay discuss a complete work in detail, but they all provide valuable and revealing insights into many aspects of Berg's compositions and his continually burgeoning reputation. Both volumes can be highly recommended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate collections.-R. Stahura, Ripon College