Sebastian wiegles conducting is some of his most inspired, sympathetic and dramatically alert of any dvd featuring him as conductor. Douglas jarmans study provides a clear and accessible introduction to this work, placing it in the context of the radical developments in musical language during the early decades of the century and of the development of bergs own musical style. The year that concerts from the library of congress was founded and also the year that alban bergs wozzeck was first performed. By his teenage years, however, he had composed dozens of songs without the benefit of formal compositional studies. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Based on real events and playwright georg buchners starkly vehement text, alban berg s tragic opera wozzeck is an epochmaking work, in stark contrast to the previous high romantic ideals of the genre, that led schoenberg to exclaim now thats what i call an opera. Vimeo gives control freaks the power to tweak every aspect of their embedded videos. Wozzeck by alban berg, franz grundheber, hildegard behrens, aage haugland, philip langridge, heinz zednik, walter raffeiner, wiener staatsopernchor, wiener philharmoniker, claudio abbado from amazons classical music store. A chilling autopsy of a tragedy, a piercing examination of abysmal despair, wozzeck is an emblematic opera of the 1920s, a harbinger of the unease and aching void of the 20 th century, haunted by war and death, the misery of the human condition set to a music that is economical in its effects and carefully composed, yet whose emotional power grabs the listener by the throat.
Wozzeck sung in english, an album by alban berg, andrew shore, paul daniel on spotify. Based on real events and drawing on georg buchners revolutionary play, alban bergs wozzeck turns a grimly tragic narrative of violence and. Alban berg pierre boulez wozzeck 1967, vinyl discogs. Wozzeck opera at cairo opera house cairo 360 guide to. Berg was a dreamy youth and an indifferent student. His opera, wozzeck, was composed between the years 1914 and 1922, and received its debut performance in 1925. An analysis of the compositional devices in wozzek by. Abbados was recorded live at the vienna staatsoper, and any studio recording of an opera risks sounding scorebound when compared with a real, live performance in the theatre. Wozzeck replies that we poor folk could be virtuous if only they were welloff gentlemen. The opera premiered in berlin on december 14, 1925. The library of congress is fortunate to hold the manuscript of this enduring masterpiece. He was a member of the second viennese school along with arnold schoenberg and anton webern, producing works that combined mahlerian romanticism with a highly personal adaptation of schoenbergs twelvetone technique. The opera is based on the drama woyzeck, which the german playwright georg buchner left incomplete at his death. Alban maria johannes berg february 9, 1885 december 24, 1935 was an austrian composer.
Wozzeck claudio abbado, vienna boys choir on allmusic 1988. Winner of the 2018 grammy award for best opera recording and best opera recording 20th21st century opera by echo klassik, the houston symphonys recording of alban bergs wozzeck was met with worldwide critical acclaim. Of course, this isnt a particularly cheery work theres no getting around that. His teacher schoenberg had not yet developed the twelve tone system. Wozzeck simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Music and libretto by alban berg, after the play by georg buchner wozzeck. Terms in this set 14 which scenes will we be studying from wozzeck. Transitional passages and introduction for chamber orchestra guten tag, franz act two feat.
Bergs wozzeck not only represents the crowning achievement in musical expressionism, but also has to be one of the most powerful operas of the twentieth century. When alban berg attended the first production of georg buchners play woyzeck, he immediately knew that he wanted to base an opera off of the story line. Grundheber behrens raffeiner langridge zednik haugland sramek maly wiener sangerknaben wiener staatsopernchor wiener philharmoniker claudio abbado int. The music of wozzeck has tonal music in the tradition of mahler, but also some atonal music music which is not. Alban berg 18851935 from 1915 to 1918, alban berg served in the austrohungarian army and during a period of leave in 1917, accelerated work on his harrowing opera wozzeck, which captured the brutality of the time. Berg was born in vienna, the third of four children of johanna and conrad berg. Streaming and by permanent download to your computer andor device. Bergs dark exploration of a soldier peter mattei besieged by the evils of society was composed during and in the aftermath of world war i, and the horrors of war come to terrifying life in the ramshackle warren of stairs, ramps, discarded furniture and debris of kentridges new staging. Remarks by alban berg give unto the theatre what is the theatres i did not dream of wishing to reform the art form of opera by composing wozzeck, nor was that my intention as i began to compose it. Its plot depicts the lives of soldiers and townspeople in a rural germanspeaking town.
It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925 berg wrote this opera before the period when he used serialism in his works. Alban bergs wozzeck is one of the most significant operas of the twentieth century. The significance of wozzeck lies in its success in connecting with its audience and delivering social messages in a most striking and contemporary manner. Wozzeck cambridge opera handbooks douglas jarman, wozzeck on. Alban berg based on georg buchners 1837 play, woyzeck. Wozzeck hq 1970 film version english subtitles youtube alban berg documentary duration. Wozzeck is in a field with another soldier, cutting brush. Performed by the orchester des deutschen opernhauses berlin, conducted by karl bohm, with gerhard stolze, helm. Libretto by alban berg after georg buchners play woyzeck. The voice of bergs wozzeck has been characterized by his sprechgesang, heard as manifestation.
I want to persuade you that opera is indeed for you, and this opera, alban bergs wozzeck, in particular. I get far more transported by abstract instrumental music than from a bunch of overstuffed prima donnas screaming their guts out. He was in many ways the perfect berg conductor, able to balance the musics debts to both late romanticism and modernism perfectly, without compromising either the musics formal clarity or its emotional power. Although he left a relatively small oeuvre, he is remembered as one of the most important composers of the 20th century for his expressive. A quarter of a century after it was recorded, this still remains the finest of all wozzeck recordings on disc. The legendary world premiere of the complete opera took place over a year later, on 14 december 1925. The orchestra convey every ounce of the dark harshness and tender lyricism of bergs score through some beautifully shaped and highly atmospheric playing. The young albans musical training consisted mainly of piano lessons from his aunt. The soldier wozzeck christian gerhaher flits through a world that he is unable to. In an article wr1 tten after berg s death, willi reich sums up bis reasons for berg e greatness as a composer in alban berg, the world lost one ot the most important musicians of modern times. February 9, 1885 december 24, 1935 was an austrian composer of the second viennese school. The officer urges him to work more slowly, then tells him. Alban bergs wozzeck as he struggles with jealousy and poverty in this powerful tragedy, the psychologically disturbed title character endures ridicule from his superiors and.
Georg buchners drama fragment, on which alban berg based his first opera, is an unflinching case study of social injustice and human suffering. Act 1 wozzeck, a soldier, shaves the captain, who lectures him on his moral failures. Chandos records is one of the worlds premier classical music record companies, best known for its ground. A pupil of arnold schoenberg, berg deviates from schoenbergs strict twelvetone and atonal technique somewhat to yield a more intense musical representation of the characters and events. His compositional style combined romantic lyricism with the twelvetone technique. Experiencing it at lyric opera, youll discover theater set to some of the most powerful, gripping, and beautiful music ever written. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The baritone matthias goerne, who stepped into this gripping 1997 production by mark. Alban berg pierre boulez, orchestra of the paris national opera and chorus of the paris national opera, walter berry, isabel strauss, fritz uhl, carl doench wozzeck. We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. Alban berg wozzeck 2014 written by bluesever sunday, 06 april 2014 16. This concert performance by the houston symphony orchestra under hans graf features baritone roman trekel as. Wozzeck hq 1970 film version english subtitles youtube.
Berg attended the first production in vienna of buchners play on 5 may 1914, and knew at once that he wanted to base an opera. Bergs father was an export salesman, his mother the daughter of the austrian imperial jeweler. Recorded in 20 under the direction of then music director hans graf, the powerful and moving drama explores the despair and madness of a central character who has no. Wozzeck is an opera by the austrian composer alban berg 18851935.
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