Berg Brahms
Alban Berg
Violin Concerto «To the memory of an angel»
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op 73
In the 6th Philharmonic Concert of this season, the German pianist Lars Vogt should have played the Piano Concerto by Robert Schumann. In September 2022, the pianist died at the age of only 51. Lars Vogt was not only an exceptional pianist, but also a charismatic person. Violinist Christian Tetzlaff, who was one of Lars Vogt's best friends, will perform in his place at the Philharmonic Concert. He will play the violin concerto «Dem Andenken eines Engels» by Alban Berg.
Duration approx. 1 H. 45 Min. incl. intermission after 1st part after approx. 40 Min. Introduction 45 min before the performance.
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Berg Brahms
Abstract
Berg Brahms
Alban Berg's Violin Concerto is one of the most popular works of the so-called Second Viennese School. Despite its twelve-tone structure, it is strongly rooted in a Romantic tradition and often recalls the musical language of Gustav Mahler with its references to Bach and a Carinthian folk song. The concerto was composed in 1935 as a requiem for Manon Gropius, the daughter of Alma Mahler and Walter Gropius, who died of polio at the age of only 18. Berg dedicated the composition to «the memory of an angel».
Johannes Brahms announced his 2nd Symphony as «so melancholy» that the score had to appear «with a mourning edge», although it is in D major and was written in the summer of 1877; many consider it the most idyllic and cheerful of his symphonies. Nevertheless, the «lovely monster», as Brahms also called his Symphony No. 2, is melancholy: for example, in the brooding second movement, which contains astonishing foreshadowing of the crisis of tonality and can be considered to have paved the way for the music of Mahler and Berg.