Arthur Oscar Bergh (March 24, 1882 – February 11, 1962) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

and

accompanist Accompaniment is the part (music), musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmony (music), harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in di ...

. He performed on the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

and

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

. Bergh was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

. From 1903 to 1908 he was a violinist with the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

. In 1914, he was the conductor of the orchestra in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

. Bergh became the recording manager at

Emerson Records Emerson Records was an American record company and label created by Victor Emerson in 1915. Victor Hugo Emerson was the chief recording engineer at Columbia Records. In 1914 he left the company, created the Emerson Phonograph Company, and then ...

in 1916; he had previously been employed by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, and was convinced to move to Victor Emerson's new company after Emerson himself left Columbia. Other sources state that Bergh worked with Emerson first (1915 to 1922), following which he worked at Columbia (1922 to 1930). In his later life, Bergh worked as a librarian with

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

film companies. He died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on February 11, 1962. Bergh's wife, Geraldyne Brewer (1901–1998), was an heiress in social and charitable circles in 1950s

. In 1956, they lived at 9823 Kincardine Avenue in

Cheviot Hills, Los Angeles Cheviot Hills is a neighborhood on the Westside of the city of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1924, the neighborhood has served as the filming location of movies and television shows due to its convenient location between MGM Studios (n ...

. After Bergh's death, Geraldyne married

Los Angeles Superior Court The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Court located in Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The Superior Court operates 36 courthouses throughout the county. Curr ...

judge McIntyre Faries on December 3, 1965. Geraldyne died in 1998 and was buried in

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California, United States. It is the original and current flagship location of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of six cemeteries and four additional mortuaries ...

Works

He composed a number of

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s and

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s, including adaptations of

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

's ''

The Pied Piper of Hamelin The Pied Piper of Hamelin (, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to the Middle Ages. The earliest refer ...

'' and

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

's ''

The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a visit ...

''. His ''

Lieder In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

'' include music to

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

's ''The Imprisoned Soul'' (1939),

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

's ''Music, When Soft Voices Die'' (1947),

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

's ''The Grass'' (1954), and

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

's ''

Dear Lord and Father of Mankind "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind" is a hymn with words taken from a longer poem, "The Brewing of Soma" by American Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier. The adaptation was made by Garrett Horder in his 1884 ''Congregational Hymns''. In many ...

'' (1955). Bergh's other works include a symphonic

chorale A chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of " Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one o ...

entitled ''The Unnamed City''; a romantic opera, ''Niorada''; a march for orchestra, ''Honor and Glory'' (1939); two operettas, ''In Arcady'' and ''The Goblin Fair''; a chorus entitled ''O Captain, My Captain''; a

cycle Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in ...

named ''The Congo''; as well as 80 other pieces for violin and piano. * 1908 – ''

'', Op. 20 (

) * 1910 &ndash
''December''
Op. 9 No. 1 (

Thomas Bailey Aldrich Thomas Bailey Aldrich ( ; November 11, 1836 – March 19, 1907) was an American writer, poet, critic, and editor. He is notable for his long editorship of ''The Atlantic Monthly'', during which he published writers including Charles W. Chesnutt ...

) * 1913 – '' Evening, a Reverie'', Op. 15, No. 1 * 1913 – '' Meditation in A♭'', Op. 15, No. 2 * 1913 – '' Serenade Coquette'', Op. 15, No. 3 * 1913 – '' Here They Come'' * 1914 – ''

'', Op. 23 (

) * 1915 – '' Four Tone Pastels'', Op. 17 * 1919 – '' Vesper Song'' ( Cordelia Brooks Fenno) * 1919 – '' The Goblin Fair'' ( Cordelia Brooks Fenno) * 1924 – '' In Arcady'' * 1926 – '' Concert Suite for the Pianoforte'' * 1941 – '' Love Is the Light of the World'' (

Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American C ...

) * 1938 – '' Honor and Glory'', Op. 30 * 1938 – ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

'' * 1938 – ''

O Captain! My Captain! "O Captain! My Captain!" is an extended metaphor poem written by Walt Whitman in 1865 about Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the death of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. Well received upon publication, the poem was Whitman's first to be Anth ...

'' * 1939 – '' The Imprisoned Soul'' (

) * 1941 – '' Kissing Her Hair I Sat Against Her Feet'' (

Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleve ...

) * 1941 – '' Come With Arms Outstretched'' (

Sara Teasdale Sara Trevor Teasdale (later Filsinger; August 8, 1884January 29, 1933) was an American lyric poet. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and used the name Filsinger after her 1914 marriage. In 1918, she won a Pulitzer Prize for her 1917 poetry ...

) * 1947 – ''

Music, When Soft Voices Die "Music, When Soft Voices Die" is a major poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, written in 1821 and first published in ''Posthumous Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley'' in 1824 in London by John and Henry L. Hunt with a preface by Mary Shelley. The poem is on ...

'', Op. 37 (

) * 1950 – '' A Tragic Story'' (

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his Satire, satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel ''Vanity Fair (novel), Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portra ...

) * 1950 – ''

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The song tells of the narrator hearing Christmas bells during the American Civil War, but despairing ...

'' (

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

) * 1954 – '' The Grass'' (

) * 1955 – ''

'' (

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergh, Arthur 1882 births 1962 deaths Musicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota 20th-century American male composers American composers American male violinists American male organists American male conductors (music) Musicians from Los Angeles 20th-century American organists American male pianists Classical musicians from California Classical musicians from Minnesota 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American violinists 20th-century American pianists