Lulu-Suite • Altenberg-Lieder Op. 4 • Drei Orchester-Stücke Op. 6 = Three Pieces For Orchestra, Op. 6

Released in 1971 by Deutsche Grammophon, this recording represents a landmark collaboration between conductor Claudio Abbado and the London Symphony Orchestra, featuring the soprano Margaret Price. The album serves as a definitive exploration of Alban Berg’s Second Viennese School compositions, specifically pairing his expressionist Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 6, with the highly chromatic Altenberg-Lieder and the atmospheric Lulu-Suite. It was produced during an era when the label was aggressively documenting 20th-century avant-garde repertoire, aiming to bring intellectual rigor and precise engineering to pieces that were previously considered prohibitively difficult for general audiences.

The recording is noted for its meticulous balance, capturing the complex, layered textures of Berg’s orchestration with clarity. Abbado’s direction was praised for moving away from the purely clinical interpretations common at the time, instead emphasizing the lush, late-Romantic roots of Berg’s aesthetic. Margaret Price’s contribution in the Altenberg-Lieder and the Lulu-Suite was particularly lauded by critics for its vocal control and emotional depth, helping to solidify the status of this release as a standard reference recording for scholars and enthusiasts of atonal orchestral music.