Berg's Sonata Op. 1

[clairert]

Anyone have any experience with Berg's sonata?  This piece has been on my list for a very long time, but I've always been afraid to touch it.  I consider myself decent but not excellent in terms of technical ability, and my biggest fear is jumping in and butchering the piece.  I'm much better at the expressive stuff, which is why I'm drawn to this piece in the first place. 

Representative repertoire would be Schubert's Fm and EbM impromptus and Beethoven's Pathetique. 

Am I in over my head here?  Or can anyone suggest another piece from the 12-tone composers, preferably Berg, Schoeneberg or Webern, that might be more accessible for someone who's competent on the keyboard but no virtuoso? 

Thanks in advance! 

[fast_forward]

I've played the Berg Sonata for the past few years, and it is a true gem to play and to listen to. I'm very happy that you are interested in it. (Most people hear the name Berg, and have no clue who it is think, or think of Schoenberg and hate him instantly.)

I don't know what your level of playing is, but the Sonata is very advanced technically, but most of all extremely advanced musically. Its very dense contrapuntally, which makes the technical challenges as well as the musical challenges of keep a clear as well as intelligible texture. The pacing and development is very clearly (almost too detailed) by Berg's indications, and the rhythmic activity can get quite complicated .

Though I think you should definitely try, even parts of it, maybe work towards learning it as a long term project. If you really love a piece, it will always surprise you what you can accomplish.

(One technical note, Berg's sonata is definitely not twelve tone, but more it straddles the very boundary between atonality and tonality. It is in b minor, but large sections of it establish and develop in nontonal structures)

You may also check out Schoenberg's three pieces op.11, which is equally romantic (often more so, though usually towards the darker moods) in its breadth, but more atonal (and perhaps abstract) in its language. Also op.19 by Schoenberg (six short pieces) is amazing. Very small aphorisms with deep colour and emotion, like very deep saturated points of colour on a canvas (And maybe a little easier technically).


All the best

[haydnseeker]

I've played the Berg quite successfully in the past - certainly better than the E flat Impromptu -  even though my technique in the conventional sense was quite poor.  Beware that because of its densely chromatic textures it's a very hard piece to read accurately.  I wouldn't recommend it if you're not comfortable with contrapuntal music.

The Schoenberg Op. 19 pieces are very tiny (the whole set takes just 5 or 6 minutes) but the free atonal and athematic style makes the music difficult to learn.

In Op. 11, No. 3 is also free atonal, with thick textures that are hard to cope with, but the first two are more approachable.  No. 1 has very tight motivic working (it's often cited in the analytical literature) which makes it easier to learn.  Think of it as a distorted Brahms intermezzo: if you like playing Op. 117 No. 2 in B flat minor and Op. 119 No. 1 in B minor then you'll feel at home in the Schoenberg.

For a first attempt at 12-note music you could try Dallapiccola's Quaderno musicale di Annalibera, a set of 11 short pieces (similar in length to those in Schoenberg Op. 19) all based on a single series.

[clairert]

Thanks so much for the responses.  I'll take a look at the Schoenberg's op. 19 instead.  Having listened to it a few times today, it's starting to grow on me.  And from perusing the score, it looks substantially easier than the Berg piece.  It certainly doesn't have the late Romantic appeal of Berg's op. 1, but I'm very keen on adding a few atonal (or at the very least, less tonal) pieces to my repertoire.  The Berg sonata might just have to remain on the back burner for a little while longer. 

Should I beef up on theory before I tackle these, or just focus on making music?  My experience with 20th century composers and non-tonal harmonic theory is unfortunately limited.  I'm hoping the lessons I've learned from playing a decent amount of Bach and Chopin will carry over to this repertoire, but I'm still not entirely sure of what I'm getting myself into here.  I might try to find a teacher well versed in this repertoire to coach me through the various nuances.   

[ellenjohansen]

I would love to hear more about the Berg Sonata.  I am presently learning it and I find it quite complex.  I would love to hear how you manage learning the parts and how you would approach memorizing this piece. 

Thank you,

Ellen Johansen