Bart Berman ( he, ברט ברמן; born 29 December 1938) is a Dutch-Israeli
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
and
composer, best known as an
interpreter of
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...
and
20th-century music.
Career
Bart Berman studied piano with
Jaap Spaanderman Jacobus Hendrikus Bastiaan "Jaap" Spaanderman jr. (17 October 1896 in Gouda – 22 July 1985 in Laren) was a Dutch pianist, cellist, conductor and piano and conducting pedagogue.
Jaap Spaanderman jr. was the son of organist and conductor Ja ...
at a predecessor of the
Conservatorium van Amsterdam
The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...
and complemented his piano education with
Theo Bruins
Theo Bruins (25 November 1929, in Arnhem – 8 January 1993, in Haarlem) was a Dutch pianist and composer.
Life and career
Bruins' earliest piano lessons were with his mother. His professional piano studies commenced in 1946 with Jaap Spaanderman ...
and a
master class
A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are being developed.
"Masterclass" is als ...
by
Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931) is an Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is known particularly for his performances of Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Beethoven.Stephen Plaistow"Brendel, Alfred" ' ...
. In 1978 he moved to Israel.
As a
soloist Berman was awarded the Dutch Prize of Excellence, the first prize in the
Gaudeamus Competition for interpreters of
contemporary music,
the Friends of the
Concertgebouw
The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls in ...
Award and four first prizes at competitions for young soloists. He has performed in Israel,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, as a soloist and in
chamber music. Berman was a soloist with many Dutch and Israeli orchestras and has recorded for radio and television.
Collaborations included those with flautist
Abbie de Quant
Abbie de Quant (born 1946, The Hague) is a Dutch flautist. She taught at the music academies of Amsterdam and Utrecht and had her own bi-annual concert series at the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam.
Abbie de Quant studied with Koos Verheul at the Music ...
(since 1970), Duo 4 with pianist Meir Wiesel, the Tamar Piano Trio with violinist Itzhak Segev and cellist Louis Rowen, as well as ensembles with several vocalists among whom
Bat-Sheva Zeisler. Past partnerships include
Duo Beer Sheva with the late pianist
Sara Fuxon, Ensemble M, and Negev Baroque. During 2004-2008 Berman accompanied the remake of
Hanoch Levin
Hanoch Levin ( he, חנוך לוין; December 18, 1943 – August 18, 1999) was an Israeli dramatist, theater director, author and poet, best known for his plays. His absurdist style is often compared to the work of Harold Pinter and Samuel Becke ...
's
satirical cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...
''You, Me and the Next War'',
in 2007 he was the pianist and musical director of ''Schubert Plus, An Operatic Episode in Two Acts'', and during 2011-2015 he was a guest soloist with the Zamir Quartet. In 2014 he launched a new program for 4 pianists at 2 pianos, based on Duo 4.
Berman taught piano at the conservatoires of Rotterdam and
Arnhem
Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...
and was an editor of the
Israel Music Institute
The Israel Music Institute (IMI) is the first publicly owned music publishing house in Israel. It is devoted primarily to the publication of Israeli art music, but also publishes books and booklets on Israeli music and composers, CDs of Israeli a ...
. Among his many students are Cleem Determeijer, Kees van Eersel,
Margriet Ehlen
Margriet Ehlen (born 28 September 1943) is a Dutch poet, composer, conductor and educator of classical music.
Life and career
Ehlen was born in Heerlen and has composed for a large variety of instruments, yet is particularly active in compositio ...
,
Dror Elimelech, Gerard Houtman, and
Matthijs Verschoor.
Berman studied composition with Bertus van Lier and Wouter van den Berg. He has
composed many original works, including
cadenzas
In music, a cadenza (from it, cadenza, link=no , meaning cadence; plural, ''cadenze'' ) is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and ofte ...
to all
piano concerti by
Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
,
Mozart and
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
and second piano parts to be played alongside original compositions by
Muzio Clementi
Muzio Filippo Vincenzo Francesco Saverio Clementi (23 January 1752 – 10 March 1832) was an Italian composer, virtuoso pianist, pedagogue, conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer, who was mostly active in England.
Encourag ...
and
Daniel Steibelt. Most noted are his completions to Schubert's unfinished
piano sonata
A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement ( Scarlatti, Liszt, Scriabin, Medtner, Berg), others with ...
s and
J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
's ''
Art of Fugue
''The Art of Fugue'', or ''The Art of the Fugue'' (german: Die Kunst der Fuge, links=no), BWV 1080, is an incomplete musical work of unspecified instrumentation by Johann Sebastian Bach. Written in the last decade of his life, ''The Art of Fug ...
''.
Discography
Notable performances
Composition
* ''
Farce of the Cow'' (1956), theater music for a 1612 play by
Gerbrand Bredero
* ''Hans, the Bell Ringer'' (1956), theater music for a 1923 play by
Johan Fabricius
* ''Duo in Mediterranean Style'' for violin and viola (1957)
* ''Christmas Song'' on a text by Bertus van Lier for choir
a cappella (1957)
* ''Allegro'' for Orchestra (1958)
* ''Israeli Sonatina'' for piano (1958)
* ''String Quartet'' (1958)
* ''Four Melodies'' for piano (1960, revised 1980)
* ''Three New Canons'' on the Royal Theme of
J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
:
The Musical Offering
''The Musical Offering'' (German: or ), Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, BWV 1079, is a collection of keyboard canon (music), canons and fugues and other pieces of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, all based on a single musical Subject (music), theme given ...
(1978)
* ''Etude for the Fifths'' for piano (1992)
* ''Birthday Bunch'' for piano (1994)
* ''Film music for The Staircase'' for piano (1995)
* ''Variations and Fugue'' on a theme by
Nikolai Medtner for piano (2009)
* ''
Dayenu Fantasy'' for piano (2014)
Cadenzas
*
Castiglioni Castiglioni is an Italian surname. People with this surname include:
* Giannino Castiglioni (1884–1971), Italian artist
* Achille Castiglioni (1918–2002), Italian architect and industrial designer
* Livio Castiglioni (1911–1979), Italian ar ...
: ''Arabeschi'' for flute, piano and orchestra (1974)
* The Beethoven piano concerti (1966–1990)
* The Mozart solo, double and triple piano concerti (1970–1990)
* The Haydn piano concerti (1970–1990)
Completions
* J.S. Bach: ''
The Art of Fugue
''The Art of Fugue'', or ''The Art of the Fugue'' (german: Die Kunst der Fuge, links=no), BWV 1080, is an incomplete musical work of unspecified instrumentation by Johann Sebastian Bach. Written in the last decade of his life, ''The Art of Fug ...
'' (1970)
* Schubert: ''Unfinished Piano Sonatas'' (1976–1990)
* Mozart: ''
Sonata for Keyboard Four-hands in G major'', K. 357 (1991)
*
Glinka: ''
Sonata in D minor'' for viola and piano (1999)
* Beethoven: ''Romance in E minor'' ("Romance Cantabile") for piano, flute, bassoon, and orchestra, Hess 13 (2001)
Piano parts
* Second Piano Part for
Daniel Steibelt: ''Sonatina Opus 33 in C'' (1981)
* Right Hand Piano Part for
J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
: ''Sonatas in E Minor and E Major'' (1988)
* Second Piano Part for
Clementi Clementi may refer to:
People
* Aldo Clementi (1925–2011), Italian composer
* Cecil Clementi (1875–1947), British colonial administrator and Governor of Hong Kong
* Cecilia Clementi, Italian-American scientist
* David Clementi (born 1949), B ...
: ''Six Sonatinas Opus 36'' (1995)
References
External links
Bart Berman, pianist*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berman, Bart
1938 births
Living people
20th-century classical composers
21st-century classical composers
Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni
Dutch male classical composers
Dutch classical composers
Dutch classical pianists
Dutch emigrants to Israel
Jewish Dutch musicians
Israeli classical pianists
Israeli composers
Israeli Jews
Israeli music arrangers
Israeli people of Dutch-Jewish descent
Jewish classical composers
Jewish classical pianists
Musicians from Beersheba
Musicians from Eindhoven
Musicians from Rotterdam
People from Tel Aviv
People from Tel Mond
Recipients of the Gaudeamus International Interpreters Award
Musicians from Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht
Dutch music educators
Male classical pianists
21st-century classical pianists
20th-century Dutch male musicians
21st-century male musicians
Israeli harpsichordists
Dutch harpsichordists