Role

:

Composer

Country

:

United States of America

Birth

:

May 15, 1912 in New York City, NY

Death

:

October 7, 2003 in Boston, MA

Period

:

Modern

Genre

:

Chamber

 

 

Keyboard

 

 

Orchestral

 

Arthur Berger was an American composer and music educator who was born on May 15, 1912, in New York City. He was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants and grew up in a musical family. His father was a violinist, and his mother was a pianist. Berger began playing the piano at a young age and showed an early interest in music. Berger attended New York University, where he studied music theory and composition with Frederick Jacobi. He later studied with Aaron Copland at the New School for Social Research and at Tanglewood. Copland was a major influence on Berger's music, and the two became close friends. In 1939, Berger received a Guggenheim Fellowship, which allowed him to study with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Boulanger was a renowned music teacher who had taught many of the leading composers of the time, including Copland, Elliott Carter, and Philip Glass. Berger studied with Boulanger for two years and was deeply influenced by her teaching. Berger's early works were influenced by the neoclassical style of Stravinsky and the American folk music of Copland. His first major work, the String Quartet (1933), was written while he was still a student at NYU. The quartet is a lively and rhythmic work that shows the influence of Stravinsky's neoclassical style. During the 1940s, Berger's music became more complex and dissonant. He began to experiment with serialism, a technique that uses a series of pitches to create a musical structure. His Piano Sonata (1945) is a prime example of his use of serialism. The sonata is a dense and complex work that requires great technical skill from the performer. In the 1950s, Berger's music became more tonal and lyrical. He began to incorporate elements of jazz and popular music into his compositions. His Concerto for Two Pianos (1954) is a lively and rhythmic work that shows the influence of jazz. The concerto was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and was premiered by the composer and his wife, pianist Mildred Spiegel. Berger was also a prolific writer on music. He wrote several books, including "Ideas for Music" (1962) and "Reflections of a Composer" (1976). He was a professor of music at Brandeis University from 1952 to 1980 and was a mentor to many young composers, including Elliott Carter and John Harbison. Berger's later works were more introspective and reflective. His String Quartet No. 3 (1975) is a haunting and lyrical work that shows the influence of Bartok and Shostakovich. The quartet was commissioned by the Juilliard String Quartet and was premiered at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Berger continued to compose and teach until his death on October 7, 2003, at the age of 91. He was a major figure in American music and was known for his innovative and eclectic style. His music continues to be performed and recorded by musicians around the world.

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