Ron Weidberg (; born 1953 in Tel Aviv) is an Israeli composer, musicologist, and pianist. His works have been performed by the

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is a major Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert ...

an
the Israel Camerata Jerusalem
among others.

Biography

Ron Weidberg studied at the Tel-Aviv Academy of Music with

Leon Schidlowsky Jorge León Schidlowsky Gaete (; 21 July 1931 – 10 October 2022) was a Chilean and Israeli composer and painter. He wrote music for orchestra, chamber ensemble, choir, and instruments including the piano, violin, cello, flute, mandolin, guitar ...

and

Yizhak Sadai Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in which he is the son of ...

. He later received his master's degree at Northwestern University Bienen School of Music in Evanstone, Illinois, USA. In 2000 he received his doctorate degree in musicology at Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

. The dissertation title was: "The Evolution of Sonic Design in the

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...

's Orchestral Music 1892-1914".

Music career

In 1988, he collaborated with other Israeli composers initiating a concert series titled "Music Now". In the first concert, his work "Bithonot" ("Securities") after

David Avidan David Avidan (; February 21, 1934 – May 11, 1995) was an Israeli "poet, painter, filmmaker, publicist, and playwright" (as he often put it). He wrote 20 published books of Hebrew poetry. Biography and literary career He was born in Tel Aviv, M ...

was premiered with vocalist Adi Etzion-Zak. The series was active for five years and premiered some 70 Israeli new works. His works have been commissioned and performed in the framework of the Israel Jerusalem Festival, including "Introduction, Chromatic Fugue and Polk Circus" for 8 pianos in 32 hands (1984), "Fanfare for Brass Ensemble" (1986), "Pressure Songs" (1990) and the Cantata "The story of Rabbi Amnon of Mainz"(1998). His orchestral works have been performed in all orchestras in Israel, including the

and the Israel Camerata Jerusalem. From 1979 to 2020, Weidberg was a member of the music team at the

Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...

writing music textbooks and teaching music courses. In addition, he served as the head of the Department of Literature, Language and Arts (2004-2011) at the Open University and as the head of the School of Music Education at Levinsky College of Education (2011-2013) and taught at several other higher-education music institutions. Since 2015 he is being involved in projects at the Supervision of Music Education in the Ministry of Education of Israel, where he has written an anthology titled "A History of Musical Creation" for high school music students. During 1995-6 and 1998-2001 Ron Weidberg served as a chairman and board member of the board of the Israel Composers' League.

Awards and recognition

* 1976-1977 - Scholarships from the Tel-Aviv Academy of Music for three pieces for piano, a string trio and a

passacaglia The passacaglia (; ) is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used today by composers. It is usually of a serious character and is typically based on a bass- ostinato and written in triple metre. Origin Th ...

for a string quartet * 1982 - Clermont Prize for "Nine Trumpets" * 1991 and 2010 - Israel Prime Minister's Awards for Composers * 2005 - Engel Prize for the CD "Return to Tel Aviv" * 2006 - ACUM award for Lifetime Achievement

Selected compositions

The compositions are listed in the Israel Open university site, in the book "Solo Vocal Works on Jewish Themes" and in the

National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; ; ), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; ), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Judaism, Jewish Cultural heritage, heritage. The library holds more ...

Operas

* "Dracula", an opera in three acts (1981), for libretto by Erwin Donald Nier * "Waiting for Godot", an opera based on the play by

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

(1986) * "Luischen" opera-melodrama after a short story by

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

(1988) * "Metamorphosys" after Franz Kafka (1996), Premiered at the 1996 Acre Festival * "Symposium" after

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

(2014), premiered by "Opera Camera", Jaffa 2014

Music for orchestra

* Symphony No. 1 (1991), premiere 1993, the

Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion The Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion (ISO) (hebrew language, Hebrew: התזמורת הסימפונית הישראלית ראשון לציון) was founded in 1988 by the municipality of Rishon LeZion. A year later, in 1989, it became the res ...

conducted by

Noam Sheriff Noam Sheriff (; 7 January 1935 – ) was an Israeli composer, conductor, educator, and arranger. Noam Sheriff was Artistic Director of the Kibbutz Chamber Orchestra, Music Director of the Israel Rishon LeZion Symphony Orchestra, Professor of Co ...

* Symphony No. 2 (1993), premiere 1993,

Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (Hebrew: התזמורת הסימפונית ירושלים, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Simfonit Yerushalayim'') is a major orchestra of Israel. Since the 1980s, the JSO has been based in the Henry Crown Symphony Hall, part o ...

conducted by David Shalon. * "Rhapsody", (1991) Premiere 2002,

conducted by

Yoel Levi Yoel Levi (; born 16 August 1950) is an Israeli musician and conductor. Early life Born in Romania, Levi grew up in Israel. He studied at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music, receiving a Master of Arts degree with distinction. He continued studies a ...

. Also performed in Cologne, Germany conducted by

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (; 18 July 192719 December 2015) was a German Conducting, conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewand ...

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* Variations on a Theme by Mozart (1991-2008), premiere 2012, the

conducted by Uri Sega

* Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra (1988), Premiere 1993,

conducted by

. * Concerto No. 2 for Piano, Percussion and Orchestra (2003), premiere by Revital Hachamoff and

Israel Chamber Orchestra Israel Chamber Orchestra (abbreviation ICO, Hebrewהתזמורת הקאמרית הישראלית (''Hatizmoret hakamerit'') is an Israeli orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Primary funding comes from the Israel Ministry of Education and the Tel Aviv-Yafo ...

* Violin Concerto and Orchestra (1994), premiere by Nitai Tzri and the Kibbutzim Chamber Orchestrabr>
* Concerto for two pianos and a string orchestra following notes by

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

(2005). Premiere by Silver-Garburg Piano Duo and the "Tel Aviv Soloists".

Songs

* "Lost War", five poems (1980) after

* "securities", seven poems (1982) after

* "Pressure Songs", four poems after

* "Election Campaign" (1985) after

* "Returning to Tel Aviv" (1985-2001), 26 songs after

Mordechai Geldman Mordechai Geldman (; 16 April 1946 – 8 October 2021) was an Israeli poet, non-fiction writer, artist, art critic and curator, and psychologist. His poems were translated into many languages, including the collection ''Years I Walked at Your Si ...

* "Mourner's Songs" (2002), four songs after

. * Four songs to lyrics by

Dahlia Ravikovitch Dahlia Ravikovitch (; November 17, 1936 – August 21, 2005) was an Israeli poet, translator and recipient of the Israel Prize for Poetry in 1998. Biography Ravikovitch was born in Ramat Gan on November 17, 1936. She learned to read and write a ...

("The Window", "Two Islands to New Zealand" and more) (1987–90) * Four songs to lyrics by

("Low altitude glider", "Singer of the land" and more) (2006-8)

Piano Solo, duet an ensemble

*"Luna Park", Piano Suite (1987) * Impromptu No. 2 (1988), was commissioned as a mandatory piece for the

Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition The Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition is an international piano competition specializing in the music championed by Arthur Rubinstein. The competition has been held every three years in Tel Aviv, Israel since 1974. History ...

in 1989. * "Stage Lights", Four-Handed Piano Suite (1990

* "Voyage to the End of the Millennium", 24 preludes and fugues in all major and minor scales (1997-8), premiere on December 29, 199

*"Introduction, Chromatic Fugue and Circus Polka", for eight pianos, 32 hands. Premiered at the 1984 Jerusalem Festival.

Chorus

*"The Story of Rabbi Amnon of Mainz", Cantata for Soloists, Choir and Continuo (1994) Premiere, Chapel Nova, Glasgow, Scotland * "Perpetual Peace", a cantata for soloists, choir and orchestra after Emmanuel Kant and other sources (2009). Premiere at the Beersheba Music Center, Hakibutz Ha'artzi Choir, 2009.

Chamber music

* String Trio (1992) * Variations on a theme by Mozart (original version 1991) * Sonata for cello and piano (2001) * Quintet for Tuba and Strings (2000)

Published works

Weidberg published nine Hebrew books on music.

References

External links

Sonic Design in Jean Sibelius's Orchestral MusicSibelius’s Josephson Songs, Op. 57 – The Composer’s Voice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weidberg, Ron Israeli composers Jewish classical composers 20th-century Israeli classical composers Israeli opera composers 21st-century Israeli classical composers Composers for piano Modernist composers 1953 births Living people

Biography

Music career

Awards and recognition

Selected compositions

Operas

Music for orchestra

Songs

Piano Solo, duet an ensemble

Chorus

Chamber music

Published works

See also

References

External links