- Josef Berg
Josef Berg (
March 8 ,1927 –February 26 ,1971 ) was a Czech composer, musicologist and librettist. His work represents a remarkable value in the context of Czech music after theWorld War II Čeští skladatelé současnosti, p. 25] .Life
From 1946 to 1950 he studied at the
Brno Conservatory, in the class of Vilém Petrželka. Simultaneously he attended the music lectures at the Faculty of Philosophy on Brno university given by Jan Racek and Bohumír Štědroň. He worked as a music editor in the Czechoslovak Radio in Brno (1950-53), and also wrote reviews for the journals and newspapers. Later he concentrated exclusively on composing. Berg founded an association of young composers called "Group A". The members of the group strived in their program to connect convincing artistic activity with the new musical language, and also to promote new musical trends in Czechoslovakia.Style
Even though the Berg's style was at first influenced by Moravian folk music, his mature compositions are very individual and take advantage of new composition techniques and principles. However, his works are not mere technical exercises. Particularly in chamber music Berg brought spontaneous creative invention. Berg was successful in the field of vocal and scenic music, and composed song cycles to his own lyrics. He also made a number of contributions to the
chamber opera genre, including "The Return of Ulysses", "European Tourism", and "Euphrides in Front of the Gates of Tymenas". [ [http://www.musica.cz/comp/berg.htm Josef Berg - Czech Contemporary Composer ] ]Selected works
*Months. Piano cycle (1956)
*Seven Preludies for Piano (1959)
*Sextet for Harp, Piano and String Quartet (1959)
*Sonata per cavicembalo e pianoforte in modo classico (1963)
*Organ Music on the Theme ofGilles Binchois (1964)
*String Quartet (1966)
*Songs of new Werther for Baryton and Piano (1962)
*European Tourism (a chamber opera, 1963-64)
*Nonet for Two Harps, Piano, Cembalo, Glockenspiel, Vibraphone, Xylophone and Precussion (1963)
*Johannes Doctor Faust (opera, 1966)Footnotes
References
"Čeští skladatelé současnosti" Prague: Panton, 1985.
External links
* [http://www.musica.cz/comp/berg.htm English link]
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