Josef Berg (composer)

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Josef Berg (born March 8, 1927 in Brno ; † February 26, 1971 there ) was a Czech composer.

Berg took composition lessons from 1946 to 1950 at the conservatory in his hometown with Vilém Petrželka . At the same time he studied musicology with Jan Racek and Bohumír Štědroň at the Philosophical Faculty of Masaryk University . After completing his studies, he worked as a music editor for the Czech Radio in Brno, before setting up as a freelance composer.

In his compositions, Berg was strongly influenced by Moravian folk tunes, but made use of the technical and expressive possibilities of modern composition techniques. In addition to chamber music and orchestral works (including three symphonies) and vocal music, he composed six chamber operas, the libretti of which he wrote himself. He also worked as a music critic for newspapers and specialist magazines. His last opera, Johannes doktor Faust , was completed by Miloš Štědroň and Miloslav Ištvan .

Works

  • 1st symphony (1950)
  • 2nd symphony (1952)
  • Lidé bděte! , Overture (1952)
  • Veseloherní předehra (1952)
  • String Quartet (1953)
  • 3rd symphony , 1955
  • Měsíce , piano cycle (1956)
  • Dnes ještě zapadá slunce nad Atlantidou , oratorio based on a text by Vítězslav Nezval (1959)
  • Sedm preludií for piano (1959)
  • Sextet for harp, piano and string quartet (1959)
  • Nonet for two harps, harpsichord, piano and percussion (1962)
  • Písně nového Werthera for bass baritone and piano (1962)
  • Odysseův návrat , chamber opera based on Homer's Odyssey (1962)
  • Sonata per clavicembalo e fortepiano in modo classico (1963)
  • Eufrides před branami Tymén , opera (1964)
  • Varhanní hudba , na téma Gillese Binchoise (1964)
  • Evropská turistika , chamber opera (1964)
  • Pijácký orloj , madrigal based on a text by Omar Chayyām (1965)
  • Due canti for baritone, instrumental group, organ and metronome based on Latin texts by Jan Novák (1966)
  • Snídaně na hradě Šlankenvaldě , scene from an old puppet comedy for four voices and six instruments (1966)
  • Johannes Doktor Faust , opera (1966)
  • Oresteia , piece for solo quartet, reciter and instrumental ensemble based on Aeschylus (1967)
  • Tryzna for string quartet (1968)
  • Snění (1970)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Berg, Josef
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Czech composer
DATE OF BIRTH March 8, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Brno
DATE OF DEATH February 26, 1971
Place of death Brno