Simms Bryan
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- March 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780190931445
- eISBN:
- 9780190931476
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190931445.003.0012
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
Following Berg’s death the most pressing problem was the completion of the opera Lulu. Universal Edition contracted with Arnold Schoenberg to complete the work but Schoenberg subsequently declined. ...
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Following Berg’s death the most pressing problem was the completion of the opera Lulu. Universal Edition contracted with Arnold Schoenberg to complete the work but Schoenberg subsequently declined. The opera was premiered in a two-act version in Zurich in 1937. Helene Berg’s involvement with anthroposophy shaped her contention that Berg was still in communication with her and that Lulu’s third act should never be completed. Universal Edition commissioned the completion by Friedrich Cerha, and the premiere of the three-act version was held in Paris in 1979, after Helene Berg’s death. Helene Berg undertook a publication of her husband’s letters to herself, created the Alban Berg Foundation, and donated Berg’s manuscripts and papers to the Austrian National Library. Helene Berg died in 1976. Biographies of Berg were first written by his friends and students, including Willi Reich and Soma Morgernstern, later by those outside of his circle such as Hans F. Redlich.Less
Following Berg’s death the most pressing problem was the completion of the opera Lulu. Universal Edition contracted with Arnold Schoenberg to complete the work but Schoenberg subsequently declined. The opera was premiered in a two-act version in Zurich in 1937. Helene Berg’s involvement with anthroposophy shaped her contention that Berg was still in communication with her and that Lulu’s third act should never be completed. Universal Edition commissioned the completion by Friedrich Cerha, and the premiere of the three-act version was held in Paris in 1979, after Helene Berg’s death. Helene Berg undertook a publication of her husband’s letters to herself, created the Alban Berg Foundation, and donated Berg’s manuscripts and papers to the Austrian National Library. Helene Berg died in 1976. Biographies of Berg were first written by his friends and students, including Willi Reich and Soma Morgernstern, later by those outside of his circle such as Hans F. Redlich.
Bryan R. Simms and Charlotte Erwin
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- March 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780190931445
- eISBN:
- 9780190931476
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190931445.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
This book contains a new study of the life and works of the composer Alban Berg (1885–1935). The major events in his life are recounted, based on a reassessment of archival documents, correspondence, ...
More
This book contains a new study of the life and works of the composer Alban Berg (1885–1935). The major events in his life are recounted, based on a reassessment of archival documents, correspondence, and the recollections of those who knew him. His relationship with other modernists in music, art, and literature—including Arnold Schoenberg, Karl Kraus, and Alma Mahler-Werfel—is traced. The role played in Berg’s personal and artistic life by his wife, Helene, is emphasized, and her management of his legacy—often controversial—for the forty years following his death is explored. The book contains a close study of each of Berg’s major musical works, including his operas Wozzeck and Lulu.Less
This book contains a new study of the life and works of the composer Alban Berg (1885–1935). The major events in his life are recounted, based on a reassessment of archival documents, correspondence, and the recollections of those who knew him. His relationship with other modernists in music, art, and literature—including Arnold Schoenberg, Karl Kraus, and Alma Mahler-Werfel—is traced. The role played in Berg’s personal and artistic life by his wife, Helene, is emphasized, and her management of his legacy—often controversial—for the forty years following his death is explored. The book contains a close study of each of Berg’s major musical works, including his operas Wozzeck and Lulu.
