Josef Tal

Infobox Person
name = Josef Tal

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image_size = 200px
caption = Josef Tal in 2002
birth_date = birth date|1910|9|18
birth_place = Pinne (Pniewy), German Empire (present Poland)
nationality = Israeli
death_date = death date and age|2008|8|25|1910|9|18
death_place = Jerusalem, Israel
occupation = Composer

Josef Tal (born "Joseph Gruenthal"; September 18 1910 – August 25 2008) was an Israeli composer. He was born in the town of Pinne (Pniewy), German Empire (present Poland). Soon after his birth his family moved to Berlin.

Tal studied in Berlin at the "Staatliche Akademische Hochschule fuer Musik" with Paul Hindemith, Max Trapp and Heinz Tiessen. In 1927 he established an electronic music studio. During these years he worked as a pianist accompanying dancers and silent movies. In March 1934, with the rise of Nazism, he emigrated to Palestine and became a member of Kibbutz Gesher. In 1936 he settled in Jerusalem, where he performed as a pianist, taught piano lessons and played with the newly-founded Palestine Orchestra as a substitute harpist. His early years in Jerusalem among the intellectual circles dominated by the poet Else Lasker-Schüler are reflected upon in his cantata "Else" (1975). He was soon appointed to teach the piano and composition at the Palestine Conservatory. In 1951 Tal was appointed to a post at Hebrew University. There he established the first electronic music studio in Israel. His comprehensive acoustical research led to the development of a notational system for computer-generated composition. In 1965 he was among the founders of the department of musicology at the Hebrew University, where he was appointed professor and chair. His awards include the Israel Prize (1971), three Engel Prizes, the Arts Prize of the City of Berlin (1975), the Wolff Prize (1983) and the J.W. Stamitz Prize (1995). He was also elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Compositions

Josef Tal's work is influenced by the Bible and events in the Jewish history, and includes dodecaphonic elements.

Among his compositions are operas, ballets, symphonies, piano concertos, chamber music, an Oratorio, Cantatas and music for the Psalms.

"A Partial list of works:" Operas:* Saul at Ein Dor, a one-act opera:* Joseph (1994), composed for the opening of the new Tel Aviv opera house:* Der Turm, first performed in 1987 in Berlin; libretto by Hans Keller:* Ashmedai (Hebrew for Asmodai):* Amnon and Tamar:* The Temptation, commissioned for the Munich Bavarian State Opera in 1976:* Massada 967, commissioned for the 1973 Israel Festival to commemorate 1900 years for the fall of Masada:* The Garden, a chamber opera for two singers and an actor, commissioned for the Berlin State Opera; libretto by Israel Eliraz

Orchestral music:* Five Symphonies:* Three Piano Concertos, 1, 2 and 3:* A Viola Concerto

Vocal:* Exodus:* Succoth Cantata:* The Death of Moses:* Songs on verses of Heine

Instrumental:* Three preludes:* Six sonnets:* A Piano Sonata:* Three String Quartets

Works with tape:* Piano Concertos 4,5 and 6:* Exodus II:* Ranges of Energy

Literature

* Josef Tal, Der Sohn des Rabbiners. Ein Weg von Berlin nach Jerusalem ("The Son of the Rabbis: a Way from Berlin to Jerusalem"), an autobiography, 1985, ISBN 3-88679-123-8
* Josef Tal, Tonspur - Auf der Suche nach dem Klang des Lebens ("On Search for the Sound of Life"), an autobiography, Henschel publishing house Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-89487-503-8

Prizes

* 1970 - the State of Israel Prize
* 1975 - the Art Prize of the City of Berlin
* 1983 - the Israeli Wolf Prize
* 1984 - the German Verdienstkreuz I Klasse Prize
* 1985 - the French Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Prize
* 1995 - The German Johann Wenzel Stamitz PrizeTal was also awarded a UNESCO grant for the study of electronic music.

References and external links

* Based on the German wikipedia article
* [http://www.imi.org.il/composerInfo.asp?num=165 Tal's biography on the IMI web site]
* [http://emfinstitute.emf.org/articles/gluck.tal.html A Conversation with Joseph Tal] on the Electronic Music Foundation web site

ources

*Jehoash Hirshberg. The "New Grove Dictionary of Opera", edited by Stanley Sadie (1992). ISBN 0-333-73432-7 and ISBN 1-56159-228-5