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Alban Berg

Alban Berg

Born: 9th February 1885, Vienna, Austria

Died: 24th December 1935, Vienna, Austria

Nationality: Austrian

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".

Berg was born and lived in Vienna. He began to compose only at the age of fifteen. He studied counterpoint, music theory and harmony with Arnold Schoenberg between 1904 and 1911, and adopted his principles of developing variation and the twelve-tone technique.

Further Reading: Berg

Recording of the Week, Leonskaja celebrates the Second Viennese School

Elisabeth Leonskaja's persuasive and engaging recital of piano works that are often misunderstood is an essential listen, whether mention of the Second Viennese School excites you or normally sends you running for the hills.

Recording of the Week, A fin-de-siècle voyage with Barbara Hannigan and the Emerson String Quartet

The quartet - joined by Barbara Hannigan and Bertrand Chamayou - go out on a high after nearly fifty years of music-making, with a programme of early twentieth-century works themed around journeying and longing.

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