Berg and Beethoven: an introduction by Malte Krasting (10 min.)

With Alban Berg’s Lulu Suite and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, two central works of classical Modernism and the First Viennese School were programmed for the season-opening concert with which Kirill Petrenko celebrated his debut as chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker in August 2019. In the selection of symphonic pieces from his unfinished opera, compiled by the composer himself, Berg combines strict twelve-tone technique with the sensuousness of late-Romanticism, while Beethoven’s last symphony explores human existence in all its dimensions. In this introduction, dramaturge Malte Krasting talks about the genesis of the compositions and explains the relationships between them.