140 Years Alban Berg: Secret Song – Film-Screening & Talk with Hilan Warshaw
Image: Overtone Films
FEBRUARY 13 | 6:30 PM
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
Join us in celebrating the 140th anniversary of the birth of Austrian composer Alban Berg and come for a film-screening of “SECRET SONG“, produced and directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Hilan Warshaw. 2025 marks the 140th anniversary of the birth of Alban Berg (1885–1935), a key figure in 20th-century music and a leading member of the Second Viennese School, founded by Arnold Schoenberg. Known for his groundbreaking work in blending atonality and serialism with a rich, emotional expressiveness, Berg’s compositions continue to resonate with modern audiences. His operas Wozzeck and Lulu stand as masterpieces of modernist opera, while his Violin Concerto is celebrated for its poignant lyrical beauty.
About the Film
SECRET SONG tells the gripping true story behind a musical masterpiece: Alban Berg’s Lyric Suite for string quartet has long been hailed as one of the cornerstones of 20th-century musical modernism. But for decades, few suspected that behind this powerful music lies an explosive secret. In 1925, Berg fell passionately in love with Hanna Fuchs-Robettin, a married woman living in Prague. Soon afterwards, Berg composed the Lyric Suite for string quartet, which he intended as an explicit musical portrayal of his love affair with Hanna. Berg explained the music’s secret meaning in a color-coded copy of the score that he annotated for Hanna, making clear that the main events of their romance are vividly dramatized in the piece. But to the rest of the world — including his wife, Helene — Berg presented the piece as he wanted it to be seen: a purely abstract work of chamber music. Among the work’s secrets is that its last movement was originally conceived as a song about doomed love, set to a poem by Baudelaire. SECRET SONG brings this tale to life as an innovative film narrative. At the heart of the film is a cinematic re-enactment of the love story hidden within the notes of the music, with the music itself as the soundtrack.
Hilan Warshaw: is an Emmy-winning filmmaker based in Manhattan. He has produced, directed, and written numerous documentaries. Since autumn 2020, Hilan has worked as video director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He is a Hermitage Artist Retreat Fellow, and has served as a juror for the Emmy and International Emmy Awards. His essays on film and music have been published in anthologies. He holds a B.F.A. and M.F.A. from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. An experienced violinist and conductor, he studied orchestral conducting at Mannes College of Music and the Aspen Music School. Image Credit: ACMP