Eino Tamberg (27 May 1930 – 24 December 2010) was an Estonian composer whose works are performed internationally. He composed operas such as ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

'', four symphonies, and several concertos. He taught composition for decades at the Estonian Academy of Music.

Life

Tamberg was born in Tallinn. He studied composition with

Eugen Kapp Eugen Arturovich Kapp ( – 29 October 1996) was an Estonian composer and music educator. Characterized by simple harmonies, march rhythms and an appealing melodic style, his music is reflective upon the musical ideas favoured by the Stalinist ...

at the

Tallinn Conservatory The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

, graduating in 1953. He worked as music director at the Tallinn Drama Theatre from 1952, and as sound engineer for the

Estonian Radio Eesti Raadio (Estonian Radio, ER) was the public service radio broadcaster of Estonia that, at the time of closure, operated five national radio stations. It was closed in 2007 as a result of a merger with Eesti Televisioon (Estonian Television, ...

from 1953 to 1957. As a composer, he first became known with his song cycle (1955) based on poetry by

Sándor Petőfi Sándor Petőfi ( []; né Petrovics; sk, Alexander Petrovič; sr, Александар Петровић; 1 January 1823 – most likely 31 July 1849) was a Hungarian poet of Serbian origin and liberal revolutionary. He is considered Hungary's ...

, and with his ''

Concerto Grosso The concerto grosso (; Italian for ''big concert(o)'', plural ''concerti grossi'' ) is a form of baroque music in which the musical material is passed between a small group of soloists (the '' concertino'') and full orchestra (the ''ripieno'', ''tut ...

'' (1956), for which he won a gold medal at an international music festival in Moscow. Tamberg was an important initiator of the anti-romantic composition movement of the late 1950s. His vision on music composition belonged to the so-called ''New Wave'' in Estonian music. He became more known outside Estonia from approximately 1960, writing music for a large variety of genres, but in particular music for theatre and symphonic music. Since 1969, he taught at the Estonian Academy of Music, where he was appointed professor in 1983. Among his students were

Raimo Kangro Raimo Kangro (21 September 1949 Tartu – 4 February 2001 Ruila, Harju County) was an Estonian composer. He composed mainly instrumental works and operas. In 1968 he graduated from Tallinn State Conservatory in composition speciality. 1989-2001 ...

, Margo Kõlar,

Urmas Lattikas Urmas Lattikas (born 17 August 1960 in Tapa) is an Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the we ...

Alo Mattiisen Alo Mattiisen (22 April 1961 – 30 May 1996) was an Estonian musician and composer. One of the most famous melodies that he composed was a patriotic song titled "No land is alone", with lyrics written by the Estonian poet Jüri Leesment. Sev ...

, Toivo Tulev,

Peeter Vähi Peeter Vähi (born 18 May 1955, Tartu) is a classical Estonian composer. Vähi's work ''Relaxatio'', written in 1992 and inspired by Asian intonal elements of Tibetan canticles, is a noted electronic work of psychotherapeutic music.Mark Rais. ...

and Mari Vihmand. For the 1997/98 season he was composer-in-residence with the

Estonian National Symphony Orchestra Estonian National Symphony Orchestra ( et, Eesti Riiklik Sümfooniaorkester ''(ERSO)'') is the leading orchestra in Estonia and is based in the capital Tallinn. The orchestra traces it roots to 18 December 1926, the first concert broadcast by Tal ...

. He died in Tallinn.

Work

Tamberg was one of the most important representatives of

neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

in Estonian music, though his later works were more

expressionistic Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

in style. Two of Tamberg's notable works are the ballet ''Joanna tentata'' (1971) and the ''Trumpet Concerto No. 1'' (1972). The Trumpet Concerto remains one of his most popular works and was performed not only in Europe, but also in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, and was recorded by

Håkan Hardenberger Ulf Håkan Hardenberger (born 27 October 1961 in Malmö) is a Swedish trumpeter. Taking up the trumpet at the age of eight under the guidance of hometown teacher Bo Nilsson, Hardenberger pursued further studies at the Paris Conservatoire, with P ...

. Tamberg also wrote four symphonies, a

violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

(1981), saxophone concerto (1987),

clarinet concerto A clarinet concerto is a concerto for clarinet; that is, a musical composition for solo clarinet together with a large ensemble (such as an orchestra or concert band). Albert Rice has identified a work by Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli as possibly th ...

(1996), a second trumpet concerto (1997),

bassoon concerto A bassoon concerto is a concerto for bassoon accompanied by a musical ensemble, typically orchestra. Like bassoon sonatas, bassoon concerti were relatively uncommon until the twentieth century, although there are quite a few bassoon concerti from ...

(2000) and

cello concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...

(2001). His second opera, ''

'' premiered in 1976. This romantic work shows the influence of early

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

conventions and

bel canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

singing. It consists of three acts and an

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...

(Op. 45) and was written in 1974 using a libretto by

Jaan Kross Jaan Kross (19 February 1920 – 27 December 2007) was an Estonian writer. He won the 1995 International Nonino Prize in Italy. Early life Born in Tallinn, Estonia, son of a skilled metal-worker, Jaan Kross studied at Jakob Westholm Gymnasiu ...

, based on the

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...

. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in 1995, he wrote his ''Celebration Fanfares'', premiered in New York City conducted by

Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, ...

. He was awarded an Estonian State Cultural Award in 2007 for his lifetime achievements.

Compositions

* (''Prince Gabriel''), suite, 1955 * ''

'', Op. 5, 1956 * Ballet Symphony, 1959 * (''The Boy and the Butterfly''), ballet, 1963 * (''Iron Home''), opera, 1965 * Music for the film (''To the Cold Land''), 1965 * ''Joanna tentata'', ballet, 1970 * Trumpet Concerto, 1972 * ''

'', opera, 1974 * Symphony No. 1, 1978 * ''Amores'', oratorio, 1981 * Symphony No. 2, 1982 * ''Lend'' (''The Fly''), opera, 1983 * Symphony No. 3, 1987 * ''Fanfare'' (''Celebration Fanfares''), 1995 * ''Sentimental Journey with a Clarinet'', 1996 * ''Desiderium Concordia'' (''Longing for Unity''), after 1997 * Symphony No. 4, 1998

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamberg, Eino 1930 births 2010 deaths Estonian opera composers Male classical composers Male opera composers Musicians from Tallinn Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 4th Class Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni 20th-century Estonian composers 20th-century male musicians Soviet composers