Berg: Der Wein

Day 303

Berg: Der Wein

Anne Sofie Von Otter

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Claudio Abbado 

I discovered the music of Berg when I was still at school. I remember having an LP of the violin concerto and also of the double concerto and the three orchestral pieces. Since then I have heard most of his music and seen both of his operas but this composition had passed me by. It is a one-off concert aria written as a commission in 1930.

It is rather a curious piece. It starts off in a very serious mood with some knotty expressionist music typical of what we find in much of Wozzeck. But then there are moments of parody and near jazz. The solo part is difficult but still is obviously vocal music rather - Berg doesn’t treat the voice as just another instrument. I suspect that Der Wein will always be on the fringes of the repertory and I imagine it is a difficult piece to programme. It is not quite long enough to be a main feature of a concert yet is hardly suitable as an ‘extra’ after a more extended solo piece. But I am pleased to have heard it - I think that now I have heard all of the published music of Berg - for such an important figure there really is not that much to go at.