Violin Concerto

Alban Berg's Violin Concerto was written in 1935 (the score is dated 11 August 1935). It is probably Berg's best-known and most frequently performed piece. In it, Berg sought to reconcile diatonicism and dodecaphony. The work was commissioned by Louis Krasner, and dedicated by Berg to "the memory of an angel", Manon Gropius. It was the last work he completed. Krasner performed the solo part in the premiere at the Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona, on 19 April 1936, after the composer's death. Conception and composition The piece stemmed from a commission from the violinist Louis Krasner. When he received the commission, Berg was working on his opera Lulu, and did not begin work on the concerto for some months. The event that spurred him into writing was the death by polio of 18-year-old Manon Gropius, the daughter of Alma Mahler (once Gustav Mahler's wife) and Walter Gropius. Berg set Lulu aside to write the concerto, which he dedicated "To the memory of an angel". Berg worked on the piece very quickly, completing it in a few months; it is thought that his work on the concerto was largely responsible for his failing to complete Lulu before his death on 24 December 1935. The concerto was the last work he completed. In a letter to Krasner dated 16 July 1935, Berg confessed: