Berg, Alban, behrg, ahl BAHN (1885-1935), was an Austrian composer. At the age of 19, he became a student of composer Arnold Schoenberg and remained close to him for the rest of his life. He generally followed his teacher in the use of atonality and the 12-tone system (see Music). One of Berg's earliest works to use atonality was his String Quartet of 1910. His first major work using the 12-tone system, also for string quartet, was the Lyric Suite (1927). Berg's later 12-tone works included his Violin Concerto (1936) and his second opera, Lulu, first performed in its entirety in 1979.