The Alban Berg Monument, in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, is a memorial to the composer

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

(1885–1935), unveiled in 2016. It is situated on Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz next to Vienna State Opera.

History

The project, funded by the , began in April 2015, and was managed by . The monument was designed by

Wolf Dieter Prix Wolf Dieter Prix is an Austrian architect. In 1968 he co-founded the architects' cooperative Coop Himmelb(l)au, which has an international reputation as an important representative of deconstructivism. Life Early life Mr. Prix' father wa ...

and Sophie C. Grell of Coop Himmelb(l)au, and the structural design was by Bollinger & Grohmann."Denkmal für Alban Berg enthüllt"
wien.orf.at, 20 June 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2022."Das Alban Berg Denkmal vor der Wiener Staatsoper"
Alban Berg Stiftung. Retrieved 18 August 2022.

Description

The monument was unveiled in June 2016. It is made of cast

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

, and weighs about 1.5 tonnes. Its height is about .Alban Berg Monument
''Bollinger & Grohmann''. Retrieved 18 August 2022. Prix, whose great-uncle

Klaus Maetzl Klaus Maetzl (1941 – 4 May 2016) was an Austrian violinist, noted as a founder of the Alban Berg Quartet. He studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna with Franz Samohyl, and studied further with Max Rostal. From 1967 ...

was a violinist in the

Alban Berg Quartet The Alban Berg Quartett was a string quartet founded in Vienna, Austria in 1970, named after Alban Berg. Members Beginnings The Berg Quartet was founded in 1970 by four young professors of the Vienna Academy of Music, and made its debut in ...

, described the sculpture as reacting to the expressive lines of the music with expansive loops. He said that it is "frozen music, that stands in the right place." The sculpture is on a pedestal one metre high, consisting of twelve steps, referring to the twelve-tone technique used by the composer."Alban-Berg-Denkmal vor Staatsoper"
wien.orf.at, 2 November 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2022. The monument is also intended to pay tribute to three composers who were colleagues of Berg:

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

, Anton Webern and

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

, director of the court opera in Vienna. , Viennese councillor for culture during the realization of the project, said that the monument is "a striking symbol of artistic obstinacy and the courage to innovate".

References

{{Reflist Monuments and memorials in Austria Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt Tourist attractions in Vienna