The central point of this book is the realization that the creative work
of Alban Berg, which in recent years has moved to the forefront of
scholarly interest, is largely rooted in autobiography, so that
therefore one can gain access to the music by studying the inner
biography of its creator. Accordingly, the first of the three parts of
this volume outlines a character portrait of this great composer. Part
two considers the conditions relevant to a deeper understanding of Berg
and of the Second Viennese School generally. In part three, then, Berg's
key works will be analyzed and semantically deciphered in terms of his
inner biography. The study is based not only on the sources in print
but also on the rich unpublished material. Alban Berg was incapable of
composing without a program. He needed an extra-musical stimulus. With
him, personal experience was the indispensable condition of the creative
process: the autobiographic reference was all-important for composing.