Rice University Shepherd School of Music Students and Alumni Chorus
Houston Grand Opera Children's Chorus
Deutsche Samstagsschule Houston Kinderchor
Alban Berg
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Composer Biography
Alban Berg, the composer of Wozzeck, initially showed inclinations towards architecture, creative writing, and fine art before becoming a composition pupil of Arnold Schoenberg.
Critical Reception
Arnold Schoenberg, initially skeptical of Wozzeck, became its first champion after seeing the finished manuscript in 1921, recognizing its groundbreaking nature.
Recording & Production
This recording of Wozzeck was made possible by the generosity of numerous donors, including Stephen and Mariglyn Glenn, Jackson D. Hicks, and Mike Stude.
Composition History
Alban Berg's wartime experience as a clerk in the War Ministry helped him identify with the soldier Wozzeck, influencing his composition of the opera.
Composition History
Alban Berg resolved to set Georg Büchner's play Woyzeck to music after seeing its first performance in Vienna in May 1914, but the outbreak of World War I delayed his work.
Historical Context
The character of Wozzeck is based on Johann Christian Woyzeck, a real person born in 1780 who murdered his lover out of jealousy and whose existence is documented by two medical reports.
Compositional Technique
In Wozzeck, Alban Berg combined traditional forms and through-composition in each act, utilizing tonal, polytonal, and atonal elements in his musical language.
