Alban Berg - erzählender Komponist, komponierender Erzähler

The native Viennese Alban Berg (1885-1935) created expressive narratives – in his music as well as in words. His 'own life and love story' provided him with 'hours of utmost spiritual satisfaction,' as he wrote to his future wife Helene in 1910. In 1914, he informed his colleague Anton Webern: 'Before I composed, I wanted to become a poet at all.' Storytelling was an integral part of his life and compositional process, shaping his approach to his own biography. Alban Berg's 'Lyric Suite' has prompted audiences, the press, and researchers to speculate about possibly hidden, highly emotional programs since its premiere in 1927. The annotated score, discovered in 1976 and kept 'secret' until then, seemed to confirm this: it attributed a content rooted in the biography of its author to the string quartet. This was subsequently regarded in many studies as a crucial key to understanding Berg's music, leading to numerous interpretative narratives. In this context, the 'Lyric Suite,' with its history of creation and reception, exemplifies the 'narrative' working composer Berg, the creator of a multitude of stories linked to the string quartet. The book sheds light for the first time, from surprising perspectives, on the narrative potential of the 'Lyric Suite,' not only regarding its 'secret program' but also examining the overlapping, recipient-dependent, partly autofictional narratives surrounding the work. At the center is always Berg himself, who, as evidenced by his numerous letters, poems, and (youth) dramas, was always a passionate storyteller not only in tones but also in words.