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Diese grundlegend neue Deutung von Alban Bergs Hauptwerk bezieht zeitgeschichtliche, psychoanalytische sowie aktuelle feministische Aspekte ein und verbindet damit die Herausarbeitung eines neuartigen Ansatzes musikalischer Analyse. Der Konflikt zwischen Kultur und Natur wird als Ausdruck eines zentralen Zwiespaltes im Weltbild des Komponisten begriffen, um von dorther bisher unbekannte Tiefenschichten der Oper aufzudecken. In klarer und anschaulicher Sprache werden die kompositorischen Sachverhalte stets in Beziehung zu grundsatzlichen Fragen dargestellt. "In arguing the sexual, social and philosophical implications of Lulu on the basis of the music - in concentrating on Berg rather than Wedekind - von Massow places Lulu in a context that not only relates Berg's thought to that of contemporaries such as Weininger, Musil, Altenberg and the expressionist painters but also builds up a convincing portrait of his creative and personal psychology. Although the portrait owes much to Adorno in its discussion of the dualities inherent in Berg's own nature (and also, it must be said, in its abstract and convoluted literary style), it is refreshing, illuminating and thought-provoking." Music & Letters . (Franz Steiner 1992) ... Read more

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A study of the dimensions of musical citation in Richard Strauss and Alban Berg. German text. ... Read more

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Described by Aaron Copland as "among the finest creations of the modern repertoire," Berg's Violin Concerto has become a twentieth-century classic.In this authoritative and highly readable guide the reader is introduced not only to the concerto itself but to all that surrounded and determined its composition.The book puts the concerto in its cultural context, provides biographical information on the composers and others associated with the work, gives an accessible guide to the music, and provides scholarly discussion for specialists.The author's ability to combine musical anecdote with scholarly analysis makes this guide compelling reading for amateur and specialist alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Maybe the single most useful Cambridge Music Handbook yet
Anthony Poole's study of Berg's violin concerto is one of the standouts of the Cambridge Music Handbooks series, exploring every facet of the work and giving a vivid picture of the society in which the book was written. If you love Berg's quirky yet moving masterpiece, or are trying to understand what all the fuss is about, this is a vital book to have. Note, however, that one must also have a copy of the score to fully use this handbook, as Poole makes frequent reference to rehearsal numbers.

Poole's work consists of four parts. In the first, Poole presents the music scene of the 1930s, paying especial attention to the style of allusion used by Stravinsky et al. and the conservatism of Rachmaninoff and even some of Schoenberg's American works. Berg, writes Poole, elegantly balanced between the competing musical philosophies of the time. The second part of the book takes up this theme, showing the breakthroughs Berg made in the works written up to the violin concerto, such as the Three Orchestral Pieces, the "Lyric Suite", and parts of "Lulu".

Yet it is the latter half of the book that will be most fascinating to many readers, getting as they do to the violin concerto itself. In the third part, Poole tracks the composition of the work, explaining how it was partially inspired by the death of Manon Gropius. A big bombshell is that parts of the work are inspired by a bawdy Carinthian folk song; a work often seen as of angelic purity (dedicated as it is "to the memory of an angel") has a rather risque subtext. Poole also mentions Berg's fathering of an illegitimate child by a servant girl in his boyhood home, memories of which, which he says, leave meaningful traces in the work.

The next two chapters form the musicological analysis of the work. Some of it is accessible to everyone. For example, he goes step by step through the various portions of the concerto. The two movements break nicely into two sections each, and each section has several distinct parts of its own. Poole helps the reader follow these developments in a way that greatly enhances appreciation of the concerto. The discussion of tonality in the work, however, supposes some knowledge of music theory, and makes heavy use of Schenkerian/Neo-Schenkerian theory. Poole reveals the work to be much more traditional than is often let on--which, incidentally, vindicates Boulez, who over fifty years ago famously dismissed Berg as too bound by early notions of form and tonality. The final chapter of the work talks about the critical reception that the concerto met.

An admirable handbook, and much more successful than most entries in the CMH series.

An outstanding guide to a complex piece of music.
This book covers almost everything you could want to know about this concerto, which is difficult but full of powerful emotion.It explains the commission, the performance history, the program, and the tonality. I wishthe book had more short musical examples in the program section, but thatis a small caveat. The discussion of tonality is much clearer than in theother works I have read on this concerto. ... Read more

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Pianist and composer Marvin Wolfthal has adapted the music of Alban Berg’s opera Lulu for a piano fantasy, working his way through Acts I, II, and the Suite to find fragments that seemed convincing and effective on the piano. Rather than a formal overview of the opera itself, the fantasy became a portrait of one character, Alwa, who plays a composer within the story. As the arranger hopes, this adaptation will draw attention to the larger work as a whole. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The man and his opera
This is a fantastic book. A shame it has left print, a very concise account of the opera itself, an absolute must for scholars of the serialistic period. Some finer details are sketchy though this book is anabsolute must ... Read more