Boris Blacher (30 January 1975) was a German composer and
librettist
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...
.
Life
Blacher was born when his parents (of German-Estonian and Russian backgrounds) were living within a Russian-speaking community in the
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...
n town of
Niuzhuang
Yingkou () is a coastal prefecture-level city of central southern Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, on the northeastern shore of Liaodong Bay. It is the third-smallest city in Liaoning with a total area of , and the ninth most populo ...
() (hence the use of the
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...
on his birth record). He spent his first years in China and in the Asian parts of Russia, and in 1919, he eventually came to live in Harbin.
In 1922 he went to Berlin where he began to study first architecture, mathematics, and then music at the Berlin Hochschule fuer Musik. He found work arranging popular and film music.
Two years later, he turned to music and studied composition with Friedrich Koch.
His career was interrupted by
National Socialism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...
. He was accused of writing
degenerate music
Degenerate music (german: Entartete Musik, link=no, ) was a label applied in the 1930s by the government of Nazi Germany to certain forms of music that it considered harmful or decadent. The Nazi government's concerns about degenerate music were a ...
and lost his teaching post at the
Dresden Conservatory
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the List ...
.
His career resumed after 1945, and he later became president of the
Academy of Arts, Berlin
The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany.
The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...
, and is today regarded as one of the most influential music figures of his time. His students include
Aribert Reimann
Aribert Reimann (born 4 March 1936) is a German composer, pianist and accompanist, known especially for his literary operas. His version of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', the opera '' Lear'', was written at the suggestion of Dietrich Fischer-Diesk ...
,
Isang Yun
Isang Yun, also spelled Yun I-sang (17 September 1917 – 3 November 1995), was a Korean-born composer who made his later career in West Germany.
Early life and education
Yun was born in Sancheong (Sansei), Korea under Japanese rule, Chōsen ...
,
Maki Ishii
was a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music, and brother of composer Kan Ishii.
Biography
Born in Tokyo, Ishii studied composition privately (with Akira Ifukube and Tomojiro Ikenouchi) and conducting with Akeo Watanabe from 1952 ...
,
Fritz Geißler
Fritz Geißler
(or Geissler) (16 September 1921 in Wurzen, Saxony – 11 January 1984 in Bad Saarow, Brandenburg) was one of the most important composers of the German Democratic Republic.
The son of Elsa and Walther Geißler, he was raised in m ...
,
Giselher Klebe
Giselher Wolfgang Klebe (28 June 19255 October 2009) was a German composer, and an academic teacher. He composed more than 140 works, among them 14 operas, all based on literary works, eight symphonies, 15 solo concerts, chamber music, piano w ...
Richard Aaker Trythall
Richard Aaker Trythall (July 25, 1939 – December 21, 2022) was an American and Italian composer and pianist of contemporary classical music.
Early life and education
Trythall was born on July 25, 1939 in Knoxville, Tennessee, the younger b ...
,
Klaus Huber
Klaus Huber (30 November 1924 – 2 October 2017) was a Swiss composer and academic based in Basel and Freiburg. Among his students were Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Jarrell, Younghi Pagh-Paan, Toshio Hosokawa, Wolfgang Rihm, and Kaija Saariaho. ...
,
Francis Burt
Sir Francis Theodore Page Burt (14 June 1918 – 8 September 2004) was an Australian jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of Western Australia, from 1977 to 1988, and the 27th Governor of Western Australia, from 1990 to 1993.
Burt w ...
,
Gottfried von Einem
Gottfried von Einem (24 January 1918 – 12 July 1996) was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ.
Biog ...
,
Kalevi Aho
Kalevi Ensio Aho (born 9 March 1949) is a Finnish composer.
Early years
Aho began his interest in music at the age of ten, when he discovered a mandolin in his home and began to teach himself how to play it. He soon was taken under the tutelag ...
and
Richard Wernick
Richard Wernick (born January 16, 1934, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American composer. He is best known for his chamber and vocal works. His composition ''Visions of Terror and Wonder'' won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Career
Wernick b ...
.
Blacher was married to the pianist . They had four children including the German actress Tatjana Blacher and the international violinist
Kolja Blacher
Kolja Blacher (born 1963) is a German violin player. He plays the 1730 "Tritton" Stradivarius.Ehrengrab'' in the
Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf
Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf (Zehlendorf forest cemetery) is a cemetery located in Berlin's Nikolassee district. The cemetery occupies an area of 376,975 m2. An additional Italian war cemetery was created there in 1953. A number of notable people of Be ...
, Berlin.
Works
List of works:
*1915-17: ''Visions fugitives'', Op. 22 (arranged 1935)
*1929: ''Habemeajaja'', chamber opera, premiered 1987
*1929: ''Jazz-Koloraturen'', Op. 1 for coloratura soprano, alto saxophone and bassoon.
*1930: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 11
*1931: String Trio - Three Studies on Jewish folksongs
*1931: ''Fünf Sinnsprüche Omars des Zeltmachers'', Op. 3 for mezzo-soprano and piano
*1931: Konzert-Ouvertüre
*1931: Two Toccatas for piano
*1932: ''Kleine Marschmusik'', Op. 2 for orchestra
*1933: Orchester-Capriccio über ein Volkslied, Op. 4 for orchestra
*1934: ''Alla Marcia'' for orchestra
*1935: ''Divertimento'' for string orchestra
*1935: Etüde for string quartet
*1935: ''Fest im Süden'', Op. 6 Danse-drama in one act by Ellen Petz
*1935: ''Fest im Süden'' - Suite for orchestra
*1936: Divertimento for wind orchestra, Op. 7
*1937: Concertante Musik, Op. 10 for orchestra
*1938: Symphony, Op. 12
*1938: Dance Scenes ''La Vie'', ballet in one act
*1938: Rondo for orchestra
*1939: ''Harlekindae'', Op. 13 ballet in one act with prologue and epilogue by Jens Keith
*1940: ''Fürstin Tarakanowa (Princess Tarakanova)'', Op. 19 opera in three acts
*1940: ''Fürstin Tarakanowa'', Op. 19a - Suite for orchestra
*1940: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 16
*1940: Flute Sonata, Op. 15
*1940: Concerto for String Orchestra, Op. 20
*1940: ''Hamlet''; Symphonic Poem, Op. 17 for orchestra
*1940: Two Sonatinas, Op. 14 for piano
*1940-41: Cello Sonata
*1941: Violin Sonata, Op. 18
*1942: Sonatina for Piano Four Hands
*1942: ''Der Großinquisitor (The Grand Inquisitor)'', Op.21 - Oratorio after Dostoyevsky by
Leo Borchard
Lew Ljewitsch "Leo" Borchard (31 March 1899 – 23 August 1945) was a History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union, German-Russian Conducting, conductor and briefly musical director of the Berlin Philharmonic.
Biography
Borchard was bo ...
*1943: Three Pieces for piano, Op. 23
*1943: ''Romeo und Julia'', Op. 22 chamber opera, premiered
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...
1950
*1943: Drei Psalmen for baritone & piano (Psalms 142, 141 & 121). Arranged for chamber ensemble in 1966 by Beyer
*1943: Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 14/1
*1943: Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 14/2
*1944: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 32
*1944: ''Vier Chöre'' on texts by Francois Villon
*1945: Partita for strings & 6 percussion, Op. 24a
*1945: Concerto for Jazz Orchestra
*1946: ''Chiarina'', Op. 33 - ballet in one act by Paul Strecker
*1946: ', Op. 24b
radio opera Radio opera (German: 'Funkoper' or 'Radiooper') is a genre of opera. It refers to operas which were specifically composed to be performed on the radio and is not to be confused with broadcasts of operas which were originally written for the stage. ...
*1946: Divertimento for trumpet, trombone and piano, Op. 31
*1946: ''Die Flut (The Tide)'', Chamber opera in one act (text by Heinz von Cramer)
*1947: Piano Concerto No. 1. Op. 28
*1947: Orchestral Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op.26
*1947: '' (The Night Swallow)'', Op. 27
Zeitoper ''Zeitoper'' (German: "opera of the time") was a short-lived genre of opera associated with Weimar Germany. It is not known when or by whom the term was coined, but by 1928 Kurt Weill ("Zeitoper" in ''Melos'') was able to complain that it was more a ...
in one act
*1947: Four Songs, Op. 25 for soprano and piano. Text by
Friedrich Wolf Friedrich Wolf may refer to:
*Friedrich Wolf (writer) (1888–1953), German doctor and writer
*Friedrich August Wolf
Friedrich August Wolf (; 15 February 1759 – 8 August 1824) was a German classicist and is considered the founder of modern ...
*1948: Violin Concerto, Op 29
*1949: ''Hamlet'', Op. 35 - ballet in a prologue and three scenes after Shakespeare by
Tatjana Gsovsky
Tatjana Gsovsky (/''Tatjana Wassiljewna Gsowskaja'', born Issatschenko ; 18 March 1901 – 29 September 1993) was an internationally known ballet dancer and choreographer who was ballet mistress of the Berlin State Opera, Teatro Colón, Deutsche ...
*1949: ''Hamlet'' - Suite for orchestra
*1949/52: '' Preußisches Märchen (A Prussian Fairytale) '', ballet-opera in six scenes
*1950: ''Ornamente, Sieben Studien über variable Metren"'', Op. 37 for piano
*1950: ''Lysistrata'', Op. 34 ballet in three scenes after
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...
*1950: ''Lysistrata'' - Suite, Op. 34a from ballet for orchestra
*1950: Concerto for Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Trumpet and Harp, Op. 36.
*1951: Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 39
*1951: Divertimento for four woodwinds, Op. 38
*1951: ''Epitaph: In memory of
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...
,'' (String Quartet No. 4), Op. 41
*1951: Sonata for solo violin, Op. 40
*1951: Dialog for flute, violin, piano and string orchesra
*1951: Nebel, for voice and piano
*1952: Piano Concerto No. 2 (in variable metres), Op. 42
*1953: Orchester-Ornament, Op. 44
*1953: ''Studie im Pianissimo'', Op. 45 for orchestra
*1953/57: ', Op. 43
experimental
An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...
opera in one act
*1954: Two Inventions, Op. 46 for orchestra
*1954: Viola Concerto, Op. 48
*1954: ''Francesca da Rimini'', Op. 47 - fragment from Dante's ''Divina Commedia'', for soprano and solo violin
*1955: ''Der Mohr von Venedig'', Op. 50 - ballet in 6 scenes and an epilogue after Shakespeare by Erika Hanka
*1955: ''Träume vom Tod und vom Leben'', Op. 49 - Cantata after a poem by Hans Arp for tenor, choir and orchestra
*1956: Orchester-Fantasie, Op. 51
*1956: ''Hommage à Mozart'' - Metamorphoses on a group of Mozart themes, for orchestra
*1957: ''Music for Cleveland'', Op. 53 for orchestra
*1957: ''Two Poems'', Op. 55 for jazz quartet
*1957/64 ''Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird'', Op. 54 for soprano and string quartet (or piano)
*1958: Aprèslude, Op. 57 for voice and piano
*1958: Songs of the Sea Pirate O'Rourke'', Op. 56 for solo voices and orchestra
*1958: Requiem, Op. 58
*1959: ''Musica giocosa'', Op. 59 for orchestra
*1960: ''Rosamunde Floris'', Op. 60 - opera (libretto by Gerhart von Westerman, based on the play by
Georg Kaiser
Friedrich Carl Georg Kaiser, called Georg Kaiser, (25 November 1878 – 4 June 1945) was a German dramatist.
Biography
Kaiser was born in Magdeburg.
He was highly prolific and wrote in a number of different styles. An Expressionist dramatist, ...
)
*1961: ''Jüdische Chronik (A Jewish Chronicle)'', for chorus and orchestra
*1961: Variations on a theme of
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 ...
, Op. 61 for piano and orchestra
*1962: ''Five Negro Spirituals'', for mezzo-soprano and ensemble
*1962: Multiple Raumperperspektiven: piano and electronics
*1963: ''Perpetuum Mobile'' for solo violin
*1963: Konzertstück for wind quintet and strings
*1963: ''Demeter'', ballet in four scenes by
Yvonne Georgi
Yvonne Georgi (29 October 1903 – 25 January 1975) was a German dancer, choreographer and ballet mistress. She was known for her comedic talents and her extraordinary jumping ability. In her roles as a dancer, choreographer, and ballet mistres ...
*1963: ''Demeter'' - Suite for orchestra
*1963: Drei Chansons aus Shakespeare's Romeo und Juliet for voice and Piano.
*1964: Cello Concerto, premiered by
Siegfried Palm
Siegfried Palm (25 April 1927 – 6 June 2005) was a German cellist who is known worldwide for his interpretations of contemporary music. Many 20th-century composers like Kagel, Ligeti, Xenakis, Penderecki and Zimmermann wrote music for ...
*1964: ''Zwischenfälle bei einer Notlandung (Incidents after a Crash-landing)'', electronic opera
*1964: ''Skalen 2:3:4'', electronic
*1964/67: Four Studies for harpsichord
*1965: ''Elektronische Impulse'', electronic
*1965: Octet for clarinet, bassoon, horn and strings
*1965: ''Tristan'', ballet in seven scenes by Tatjana Gsovsky
*1966: ''Tristan'' - Suite for orchestra
*1966: ''Virtuose Musik'' for solo violin, 10 winds, timpani, percussion and harp
*1966: ''Plus Minus One'' for string quartet and jazz ensemble
*1967: ''Spiel mit (mir)'', for 2 violins and recorder
*1967: ''Ungereimtes, nach Kinderreimen komponiert'' for baritone/mezzo-soprano and piano
*1967: String Quartet No. 5 ''Variationen über einen divergierenden c-moll-Dreiklang''
*1968: ''Ariadne'', duodrama for two speakers and electronics
*1968: ''Collage'' for orchestra
*1969: ''Anacaona'', six poems by
Alfred Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
for mixed chorus a cappella about the Indian Queen
Anacaona
Anacaona (1474?–1504), or Golden Flower, was a Taíno cacica, or female ''cacique'' (chief), religious expert, poet and composer born in Xaragua. Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, Ayiti or Quisqueya to the Taínos (the Spaniar ...
Sholem Aleichem
)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Pereiaslav, Russian Empire
, death_date =
, death_place = New York City, U.S.
, occupation = Writer
, nationality =
, period =
, genre = Novels, sh ...
's story "Dos groijse Gewins"; premiered at the
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet.
Since 2004, the D ...
"200000-Taler-Mißverständnis" by Heinz Josef Herbort, '' Die Zeit'', 3 October 1969
*1969: Vier Ornamente for violin and piano ad lib.
*1970: ''Musik für Osaka'', electronic
*1970: Concerto for piccolo trumpet and string orchestra
*1970: Piano Trio
*1971: Clarinet Concerto
*1972: ''Blues, Espagnola und Rumba philharmonica'', for 12 solo cellos
*1972: ''Stars and Strings'', for jazz ensemble and strings
*1972: Duo for flute and piano
*1972: Sonata for two cellos and 11 instruments ad libitum
*1973: ''Variationen über eine Tonleiter'' for solo violin
*1973: '' Yvonne, Prinzessin von Burgund'', opera in 4 acts. Libretto based on the play by
Witold Gombrowicz
Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937 he published his ...
*1973: ''For Seven = 3(6+x)'' for soprano and jazz ensemble
*1973: Vokalisen for chorus a cappella
*1973-74: Quintet for flute, oboe, violin, viola and cello
*1974: 24 Preludes for Piano
*1974: Poem for large orchestra (1974), dedicated to Tatjana Gsovsky
*1974: Variationen über ein Thema von Tschaikowsky ("Rokoko-Variationen"), for cello and piano
*1974: ''Pentagramm'' for 16 strings
*1974: Poème for orchestra
*1974: Prelude and Concert Aria for mezzo-soprano and orchestra
*1975: ''Das Geheimnis des entwendeten Briefes (The Secret of the Stolen Letter)'', chamber opera
*1975: Fragment for string quartet
Blacher wrote the libretto for
Gottfried von Einem
Gottfried von Einem (24 January 1918 – 12 July 1996) was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ.
Biog ...
's operas ''
Dantons Tod
' (German for ''Danton's Death'') is an opera by Gottfried von Einem to a libretto by Boris Blacher and Gottfried von Einem after Georg Büchner's 1835 play of the same name. Its first performance took place in Salzburg on 6 August 1947. It was ...