Josef Berg (8 March 1927 – 26 February 1971) was a
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
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 ...
,
musicologist
Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...
and librettist. His work represents a remarkable value in the context of Czech music after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
[Čeští skladatelé současnosti, p. 25]
Life
From 1946 to 1950 he studied at the
Brno Conservatory
The Brno Conservatory, also Brno Conservatoire (), was established in Brno on 25 September 1919 by Moravian composer Leoš Janáček.
History
Leoš Janáček attempted to establish and improve high musical education in Brno from his early age. ...
, 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
Moravia
Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The medieval and early ...
n 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
Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a Chamber music, chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas ...
genre, including ''The Return of Ulysses'', ''European Tourism'', ''Breakfast at the Schlankenwald Castle'' and ''Euphrides in Front of the Gates of Tymenas''.
Josef Berg – Czech Contemporary Composer
Selected works
*Months. Piano cycle (1956)
*Seven Preludies for Piano (1959)
*Sextet for Harp, Piano and String Quartet (1959)
*Nonet for Two Harps, Piano, Cembalo, Glockenspiel, Vibraphone, Xylophone and Percussion (1962)
*Return of Ulysses (chamber opera, 1962)
*Songs of new Werther for Baryton and Piano (1962)
*Sonata per cavicembalo e pianoforte in modo classico (1964)
*Organ Music on the Theme of Gilles Binchois
Gilles de Bins dit Binchois (also Binchoys; – 20 September 1460) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. A central figure of the Burgundian School, Binchois is renowned a melodist and miniaturist; he generally a ...
(1964)
*European Tourism (a chamber opera, 1963–64)
*String Quartet (1965)
*Breakfast at the Schlankenwald Castle (chamber opera, 1966)
*Johannes Doctor Faust (opera, 1963-1969)
*Dreaming - Snění (1970)
Footnotes
https://web.archive.org/web/20110522214354/http://www.musica.cz/skladatele/berg-josef.html
References
* Štaudová, Eliška: ''Slovo i fónické struktury v hudbě nestorů Nové hudby v Brně.'' in: Hudební rozhledy 1970, no. 10-11, p. 491-497.
* Hrabal, František: ''Marginálie k Josefu Bergovi.'' in: Hudební rozhledy 1971, no. 4, p. 169-176.
* Doubravová, Jarmila: ''Světlá stránka pochybností Josefa Berga.'' in: Hudební rozhledy 1976, p. 461-3.
* Lébl, Vladimír: ''Josef Berg'' in: Příspěvky k dějinám české hudby III." Academia, Prague 1976.
* Martínková, Alena (ed.): ''Čeští skladatelé současnosti'' Prague: Panton, 1985.
* Štaudová, Eliška: ''Josef Berg. Personálni bibliografie.'' Státní vědecká knihovna, Brno 1987. - personal bibliography
* Opus musicum, 1987, no. 2. - issue of music periodical completely dedicated to Josef Berg
* Hrabal, František (ed.): ''Josef Berg. Texty.'' Panton, Prague 1988. - anthology of Josef Berg's texts and poems
* Lébl, Vladimír: ''Zpráva o večeru Josefa Berga.'' in: Konserva/Na hudbu 1992, no. 4.
* Štědroň, Miloš: ''Josef Berg - skladatel mezi hudbou, literaturou a divadlem.'' Masaryk university, Brno 1992. - monograph
* Kofroň, Petr: ''Josef Berg předvádí happening.'' in: Třináct analýz, H&H 1993, p. 53-60.
* Šťastný, Jaroslav: ''Josef Berg a jeho Snění.'' JAMU, Brno 2002 - monograph.
External links
English link
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Josef
1927 births
1971 deaths
Czechoslovak classical composers
Czech classical composers
Czech opera composers
Czech male opera composers
Musicians from Brno
20th-century Czech male musicians
Brno Conservatory alumni