Re-recording of the Alban Berg piano sonata.

Hello,

This more recent recording of the Berg sonata is, in my opinion very much superior to the one on the site. The only downside is the actual sound quality of the recording. But, the performance is by far, in my opinion, much better.

If you think it's worth it, would you please replace the one in my profile with this one?

Thanks,

Ahmed

Berg - Sonata Op. 1

 

Berg

Even though I'm not much of a "Berger" fan (sorry :roll: ), I can appreciate that these sound well-played. I would have to listen to this sonata about ten times before I could begin to appreciate it. It would also help to have a score to follow. However, that does not mean that I won't become a Berg enthusiast in the future. My taste or appreciation of musical styles is constantly expanding. It gives me great joy to begin appreciating something new to me.

 

I don't consider myself a great Alban Berg fan either but this sonata is far to important to ignore. A friend and follower of Schoenberg for sure but at this stage (op.1), he had not yet began his journey to fully implement and copy the style Schoenberg (12-tones...did you know Schoenberg smoked 60 cigarettes per day, drank 25 cups of coffee and far to much liquor, well, I can hear that in his music, can you? off topic sorry...).

This work is at the edge of something new, a search for the ultimate music and experience, so powerful yet restrained as he has not gained confidence enough to complete what his composing soul must. Not yet found what he is looking for and that is why this sonata is so incredible wonderful. So much youthfully power and strive but he is also confused. I often find immature works as this better than mature as they are yet not colored by experience and are not composed to please the critics or mass. Just straight from the heart.

And your playing...Holy Moses! It is incredible and I agree it is by far better than the previous recording (while that was not bad in any way). It is for sure a very demanding piece to play and takes a long time to study and learn. I wonder how many years you have spent on this work? I will be surprised if you say less than 5 . It must be difficult to memorize and understand to its fundamental components and I am happy to not have to learn it but can just sit back and enjoy your amazing performance. Congratulations! Just a pity the sound quality does not match your playing.

 

Well... to be honest, at the time of the recording, I had been studying the sonata for about 6 months, at the most.

It's been one of my favorite works for many years though. In my opinion, this sonata is not an intellectual search, but a complete opening of the heart and soul. An explosion of emotion and expression that goes beyond what the conventions of music were at the time.

It is always full of life and to me, the only way to play this sonata, is by losing yourself completely in the music. To stop thinking and let yourself be caught up in the waves of pure emotion this music expresses. In that regard, much like Scriabin, although in a completely different pianistic style.

Not only that; it is fascinating to analyze as well.

Impressive that it was Berg's graduation work. He was so young!

Thank you for all the kind comments. The one previously on the site was the first performance I had made of this work, and part of an exam. This one is part of a recital, and by then it was quite more mature.