In 1984, Theo Verbey orchestrated the Piano Sonata by Alban Berg (1885-1935). He took as a starting point the same instruments as those used in the Passacaglia, opus 1 by Anton Webern. According to Verbey:

“By orchestrating this sonata, you get a kind of ‘overture’ within Berg’s oeuvre; what fascinates me most about Berg is the mixing of musical genres. On the one hand, all of his pieces originate from strict formal ideas, and on the other, this is purely theatrical, emotional music. Just think of the opera ‘Wozzeck’, in which the main character’s emotional situation is constantly represented, while at the same time, only strict forms are used. During the opening of this instrumentation of the Piano Sonata, even the boundary between chamber and orchestral music is erased: the piece begins as a string quartet.”

Verbey based his instrumentation on the exceptionally varied orchestral sound of Mahler and Berg. This is evidenced by the use of mutes in the strings and brass, the style of writing for harp, and the contrasts between solo and tutti strings. Verbey adhered very closely to Berg’s original score.