Julius Berger (born 1954) is a German cellist, musicologist and an academic of chamber music and cello at the Leopold Mozart Centre of the Augsburg University. He recorded the sonatas and concertos by Luigi Boccherini, but also contemporary music by

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

, Toshio Hosokawa, Adriana Hölszky and Sofia Gubaidulina. He is the artistic director of music festivals.

Career

Born in

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

, Berger studied at the Musikhochschule München with Walter Reichardt and Fritz Kiskalt, then at the Mozarteum in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

with Antonio Janigro, before becoming his assistant from 1979 to 1982. He studied further at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

with Zara Nelsova, and in a master class of

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

. He was appointed professor at the Musikhochschule Würzburg at age 28, as one of Germany's youngest professors at the time. From 1992, he has held a class at the Internationale Sommerakademie Mozarteum Salzburg. Berger is focused on the rediscovery of the complete works by Luigi Boccherini and

Leonardo Leo Leonardo Leo (5 August 1694 – 31 October 1744), more correctly Leonardo Ortensio Salvatore de Leo, was a Baroque music, Baroque composer. Biography Leo was born in San Vito degli Schiavoni (currently known as San Vito dei Normanni, province of ...

. He recorded all cello concertos by Boccherini in 1992, including a twelfth concerto which was then recently rediscovered, on Boccherini's own Stradivari instrument. Berger is interested in the oldest music written for cello by Pietro degli Antonii and Domenico Gabrielli. He has also played and recorded chamber music by

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

, Ernst Bloch,

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic Music, Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin ...

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

and

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

to international recognition. In the field of contemporary music, Berger recorded works by

, Toshio Hosokawa, Adriana Hölszky and Sofia Gubaidulina. He is the artistic director of the festivals and Asiago Festival in Italy. He authored ''Irritationskraft'' in the Hindemith-Jahrbuch 1992, ''Einheit in der Vielfalt - Vielfalt in der Einheit'' in the research magazine of the Mainz University in 1998, and ''Zeit und Ewigkeit'' for Cardinal Karl Lehmann in 2001, among others. Berger has taught at the Musikhochschule Augsburg from 2000, serving as the deputy director of its Leopold Mozart Centre from 2010. He plays a cello built by Andrea Amati in 1566.

Recordings

* ''Inspired by BACH'' (with Oliver Kern), works by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

, ,

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

and

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

* ''Inspired by MOZART'' (with Margarita Höhenrieder). Variations from ''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'', ''Große Sonate für Violoncello und Klavier E-Dur op. 19, Sonate für Violoncello und Klavier Nr. 3 A-Dur op. 69'' * Luigi Boccherini: Cello Sonatas, vol. 1, 2 and 3 * ''The Unknown Beethoven: Works for Violoncello and Piano'' (2011) *

Giuseppe Tartini Giuseppe Tartini (8 April 1692 – 26 February 1770) was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era born in Pirano in the Republic of Venice (now Piran, Slovenia). Tartini was a prolific composer, composing over a hundred pieces for the ...

: ''Cellokonzert in A-Dur und D-Dur, Sinfonia pastorale, Sinfonie D-Dur.'' (with Süddeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim)Tartini, Giuseppe / Cellokonzerte und Sinfonien
dasorchester.de, October 2005 * Johann Sebastian Bach: Sechs Suiten für Violoncello Solo - Julius Berger, violoncello, 1997, WERGO – WER 4041-2, WERGO – 280 041-2

References

External links

* *
Julius Berger
at

discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

Prof. Julius Berger / Professur für Kammermusik und Violoncello; Interdisziplinäres Forum für künstlerische Interpretation
Augsburg University

Bach Cantatas Website *

Bernard Holland Bernard Peabody Holland, III (born 1933) is an American music critic. He served on the staff of ''The New York Times'' from 1981 until 2008 and held the post of chief music critic from 1995, contributing 4,575 articles to the newspaper. He then b ...

Music: Debuts in Review; Julius Berger, a Cellist, Presents Kodaly, Debussy
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 1981 {{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Julius German classical cellists Musicians from Augsburg 1954 births Living people