Marjo Tal (15 January 1915 - 27 August 2006)
was a Dutch composer and pianist who wrote the music for over 150 songs and often performed them while accompanying herself on the piano.
Life and career
Early life
Tal was born in
The Hague, the oldest of three daughters in a Jewish family.
She studied with
Sem Dresden
Samuel "Sem" Dresden (April 20, 1881 in Amsterdam – July 30, 1957 at The Hague) was a Dutch conductor, composer, and teacher.
Life
Dresden was born into a Jewish diamond-broking family and initially studied musical theory with Fred Roeske and c ...
and Nelly Wagenaar at the
Amsterdam Conservatory.
In 1936, she won a 3-year government scholarship to study in London with pianist Franz Osborn, where she also accompanied the students of violinist
Carl Flesch.
Tal returned to the Netherlands, where she made her debut at the Diligentia Theatre (in The Hague) on 7 March 1940. During WWII, she moved from hiding place to hiding place, and was not able to practice or perform in public. While moving around, she lost several early compositions: two string trios, a quartet, a violin sonata and a cello sonata.
Tal's two sisters moved to Israel after WWII. Marjo Tal remained in the Netherlands with her mother, who had survived the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. She taught and worked as an accompanist at dance studios and fashion shows. Tal toured throughout Europe as a piano soloist. By the mid-1960s changed her focus from performance to composition.
Later life
Tal set poems by the following poets to music:
Anna Akhmatova,
Guillaume Apollinaire,
Louis Aragon,
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...
, Esther Blom,
Rupert Brooke
Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915)The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. was an En ...
,
Robert Desnos,
Paul Eluard
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
,
Jan Engelman
Johannes Aloysius Antonius Engelman (born Utrecht, 7 June 1900; died Amsterdam, 20 March 1972) was a Dutch writer. He was the recipient of the Constantijn Huygens Prize in 1954. Dutch composers like Marius Monnikendam and Marjo Tal set several ...
,
Elizabeth Eybers,
Maurice Fombeure,
Paul Fort, Paul Geraldy, Jan Hendrix Leopoldo,
Federico Garcia Lorca Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.
People with the given name Federico
Artists
* Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ.
* Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, r ...
,
Osip Mandelstam,
Jacques Prevert, and
Raymond Queneau.
She made several recordings for BV Haast Records.
In 1988, Tal emigrated to Israel to live near her sisters.
Her music was published by
Donemus and Ray Ventura.
Works
Chamber
*''Miniaturen'' (various instruments)
*''Old Irish Country Songs'' (recorder, harp and viola da gamba or flute, piano and cello)
*''Seven Pieces for a Gentleman and His Recorder''
*''String Quartet''
*''Three Encores'' (recorder and piano)
Piano
*''Drei in Een'' (piano 4 hands)
*''Miniaturen'' (piano 4 hands)
Vocal
*“12 Chansons de Queneau”
*“20 Chansons de Prevert”
*“Acht Engelman Liederen”
*“After: Six Songs of Poems by Rupert Brooke”
*“Canciones Espanolas”
*“Canzonen: Five Songs”
*“Cent et Cinquant Chansons Litteraires”
*“Deux Rondeaux”
*“Dix Chansons de Jacques Prevert”
*''En Sourdine'' (voice and instruments)
*“Four Settings of Irish Country Songs”
*Mass (choir and organ)
*“Sept Poemes d’Amour en Guerre”
*''Siete Canciones Espanola'' (voice, piano and other instruments)
*“Six Songs”
*“Tender et Dangereux: Six Songs”
External links
Hear music by Marjo Tal
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tal, Marjo
Dutch women composers
Dutch composers
1915 births
2006 deaths
Jewish composers
String quartet composers