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In Memory of... | |||
| Composer | Alban Berg | ||
| Music | Violin Concerto | ||
| Dancers | Suzanne Farrell, Joseph Duell, Adam Luders | ||
| Scenery | David Mitchell | ||
| Costumes | Dain Marcus | ||
| Lighting | Jennifer Tipton | ||
| Genre | BALLET | ||
| Premiere | June 13, 1985, New York State Theater, New York City Ballet | ||
| Casting Reqs | 19 Dancers | ||
| Requirements | violin, orchestra | ||
| Running Time | 27′ | ||
| Notes | On learning of the death of the young daughter of a close friend, Berg, who had a deep affection for the eighteen year old girl, was so overcome that he put aside his work on his opera ″Lulu″ and began composing a violin concerto which, in his own words, was ″dedicated to an angel.″ The music is divided into programmatic sections. First, a portrait of the girl; next, her illness and death; lastly, her transfiguration. Also hidden within the composition are many autobiographical references to Berg himself.
These events took place in the mid-thirties during the Nazi rise to power which, in Austria, left Berg more or less nationless and stripped of his position and security. Within four months of completing the orchestration of the concerto, Berg himself died without ever having heard it performed, leaving the last act of ″Lulu″ unfinished. | ||