Even Schoenberg was aghast, and urged his younger colleague to discontinue writing such filth.
Berg died young and did not live long enough to compose a large a body of work. However, he did compose what may very well be the two most repulsive operas ever written. Berg, on the hand, was the most romantic of the school, as influenced by Gustav Mahler as Schoenberg. Webern, who composed mainly in miniature, is, possibly, the most influential of the three.
To read these you need a PDF reader like the Adobe Acrobat reader or a. This is an index of libretto pages in the Internet. In Lulu, Berg integrates words and music in such a way that not only do the actions on stage come alive, but the viewer of the opera reaches a level of understanding that goes far beyond what Berg could have communicated through words or music alone. Schoenberg invented the twelve-tone language and is considered the boogeyman of the musical avant-garde. Alban Berg (1885-1934) may be the most notorious member of the Second Viennese School, even more so than leader Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) and Anton Webern (1883-1945). Be forewarned: After watching these two productions of Alban Berg’s operas “Lulu” and “Wozzeck,” showering may be advisable. This is the first of a two-part series on adaptions of Alban Berg’s controversial operas.
