Role

:

Composer Conductor

Country

:

Germany

Birth

:

January 19, 1903 in Niu-chang, China

Death

:

January 30, 1975 in Berlin, Germany

Period

:

Modern

Genre

:

Chamber

 

 

Keyboard

 

 

Orchestral

 

Boris Blacher was a German composer and conductor who was born on January 19, 1903, in Newchwang, China. His parents were Russian and German, and they moved to Germany when he was a child. Blacher showed an early interest in music and began studying piano and composition at a young age. Blacher studied at the Berlin State Academy of Music from 1920 to 1922, where he was taught by Friedrich Koch and Friedrich Ernst Koch. He then studied composition with Arnold Schoenberg in Berlin from 1923 to 1925. Blacher was deeply influenced by Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, and he incorporated it into his own compositions. In 1927, Blacher became a conductor at the Berlin State Opera, where he worked until 1933. During this time, he composed several operas, including "Preussisches Märchen" (Prussian Fairy Tale) and "Der Großinquisitor" (The Grand Inquisitor). Blacher's music was often experimental and avant-garde, and he was associated with the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) movement in music. In 1933, Blacher was dismissed from his position at the Berlin State Opera because of his Jewish ancestry. He then moved to Turkey, where he worked as a music teacher and conductor. In 1936, he returned to Germany and became a professor of composition at the Berlin State Academy of Music. During World War II, Blacher's music was banned by the Nazi regime because of its modernist style. However, he continued to compose and was able to have some of his works performed in secret. After the war, Blacher became a professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where he taught until his retirement in 1968. Blacher's music is characterized by its modernist style, use of dissonance, and incorporation of elements of jazz and popular music. He composed in a variety of genres, including opera, ballet, orchestral music, chamber music, and vocal music. One of Blacher's most famous works is his ballet "Street Scene," which was premiered in 1949. The ballet is set in a city street and depicts the lives of the people who live there. The music is characterized by its use of jazz rhythms and harmonies, and it has been described as a "jazz ballet." "Street Scene" was a critical and popular success, and it helped to establish Blacher's reputation as a composer. Blacher also composed several operas, including "Abstrakte Oper Nr. 1" (Abstract Opera No. 1), which was premiered in 1953. The opera is characterized by its use of spoken dialogue and its incorporation of elements of jazz and popular music. It was a critical success and helped to establish Blacher as one of the leading composers of his generation. Blacher's other notable works include his "Concertante Musik" for piano and orchestra, which was premiered in 1950, and his "Divertimento for Orchestra," which was premiered in 1954. Both works are characterized by their use of dissonance and their incorporation of elements of jazz and popular music. Blacher was also a respected conductor, and he conducted many of his own works as well as the works of other composers. He was particularly interested in the music of Igor Stravinsky, and he conducted several of Stravinsky's works during his career. Blacher died on January 30, 1975, in Berlin, Germany. He is remembered as one of the leading composers of the mid-20th century, and his music continues to be performed and studied today.

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