Boris Blacher
Encyclopedia
Boris Blacher was a German
composer.
-speaking community in the Manchuria
n town of Niuzhuang (hence the use of the Julian calendar
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, after finishing school, he went to Berlin
where he began to study architecture and mathematics. Two years later, he turned to music and studied composition with Friedrich Ernst Toch.He is the father of German Actress Tatjana Blacher
His career was interrupted by National Socialism. He was accused of writing degenerate music
and lost his teaching post at the Dresden Conservatory.
His career resumed after 1945, and he later became director of the Music Academy of Berlin, and is today regarded as one of the most influential music figures of his time. His students include Aribert Reimann
, Isang Yun
, Maki Ishii
, Fritz Geißler
, Giselher Klebe
, Heimo Erbse
, Klaus Huber
, Francis Burt, Gottfried von Einem
, Karl Rucht, and Richard Wernick
.
Blacher was married to the pianist Gerty Blacher-Hertzog. They had four children including the German actress Tatjana Blacher
and the international violinist Kolja Blacher. He died in Berlin. At the age of 73 years old
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
composer.
Life
Blacher was born when his parents were living within a RussianRussian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
-speaking community in the Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
n town of Niuzhuang (hence the use of the Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
on his birth record). He spent his first years in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and in the Asian parts of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and in 1919, he eventually came to live in Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
. In 1922, after finishing school, he went to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
where he began to study architecture and mathematics. Two years later, he turned to music and studied composition with Friedrich Ernst Toch.He is the father of German Actress Tatjana Blacher
His career was interrupted by National Socialism. He was accused of writing degenerate music
Degenerate music
Degenerate music was a label applied in the 1930s by the Nazi government in Germany to certain forms of music that it considered to be harmful or decadent. The Nazi government's concern for degenerate music was a part of its larger and more well-known campaign against degenerate art...
and lost his teaching post at the Dresden Conservatory.
His career resumed after 1945, and he later became director of the Music Academy of Berlin, and is today regarded as one of the most influential music figures of his time. His students include Aribert Reimann
Aribert Reimann
Aribert Reimann is a German opera composer, pianist and accompanist, known especially for his literary operas. His version of King Lear was written at the suggestion of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau who sang the title role....
, Isang Yun
Isang Yun
Isang Yun was a Korean-German composer originally from Korea. According to his official publisher's Boosey & Hawkes biography of him, he was granted political asylum by West Germany, eventually becoming a naturalised German citizen, following his abduction and torture in 1967 by the South Korean...
, Maki Ishii
Maki Ishii
was a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music, and brother of composer Kan Ishii.-Biography:Born in Tokyo, Ishii studied composition privately and conducting with Watanabe from 1952 to 1958 in Tokyo, then moved to Berlin, where he continued his studies under Boris Blacher and Josef Rufer...
, Fritz Geißler
Fritz Geißler
Fritz Geißler was one of the most important composers of the German Democratic Republic....
, Giselher Klebe
Giselher Klebe
Giselher Wolfgang Klebe was a German composer. He composed more than 140 works, among them 14 operas, 8 symphonies, 15 solo concerts, chamber music, piano works, and sacred music.-Biography:...
, Heimo Erbse
Heimo Erbse
Heimo Erbse was a German composer from Rudolstadt.Erbse studied in Weimar, and then worked from 1947-1950 in the theater before studying under Blacher in 1950. He lived most of his life in Austria.- Works :...
, Klaus Huber
Klaus Huber
Klaus Huber is a Swiss composer.Huber was born in Bern, Switzerland. One of the leading figures of his generation in Europe, he has written extensively for chamber ensembles, choirs, soloists and the orchestra as well as the theater...
, Francis Burt, Gottfried von Einem
Gottfried von Einem
Gottfried von Einem 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.-Biography:...
, Karl Rucht, and Richard Wernick
Richard Wernick
Richard Wernick in Boston, Massachusetts is a US composer. He is best known for his composition "Visions of Terror and Wonder," which won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Music.-Career:...
.
Blacher was married to the pianist Gerty Blacher-Hertzog. They had four children including the German actress Tatjana Blacher
Tatjana Blacher
Tatjana Blacher is a German actress. She is the daughter of composer Boris Blacher and Pianist Gerty Blacher-Herzog. Blacher studied at the Max Reinhardt seminar and at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. She is mostly known for her role as Edith Frank in Anne Frank: The Whole Story....
and the international violinist Kolja Blacher. He died in Berlin. At the age of 73 years old
Works
Works include:- Concertante Music for Orchestra (1937)
- Symphony (1938)
- String Quartet No. 2 (1940)
- Orchestral Variations on a Theme by Paganini (1947)
- Violin Concerto (1948)
- HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
(1949) - Ballet in a Prologue and three scenes after Shakespeare by Tatjana Gsovsky - Preußisches Märchen (1949/52) - Ballet-opera in five scenes
- LysistrataLysistrataLysistrata is one of eleven surviving plays written by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end The Peloponnesian War...
(1950) - Ballet in three scenes after AristophanesAristophanesAristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete... - Piano Concerto No. 2 (in variable metres) (1952)
- Viola Concerto, Op. 48 (1954)
- Der Mohr von Venedig (1955) - Ballet in a Prologue, 8 scenes and an Epilogue after Shakespeare by Erika Hanka
- Cello Concerto (1964), premiered by Siegfried PalmSiegfried PalmSiegfried Palm 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 him....
- TristanTristanTristan is one of the main characters of the Tristan and Iseult story, a Cornish hero and one of the Knights of the Round Table featuring in the Matter of Britain...
(1965) - Ballet in seven scenes by Tatjana Gsovsky - Anacaona (1969) - Six Poems by Alfred Lord TennysonAlfred Tennyson, 1st Baron TennysonAlfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language....
about the Indian Queen AnacaonaAnacaonaAnacaona , also called the Golden Flower, was a Taíno cacica , sister of Bohechío, chief of Jaragua, and wife of Caonabo, chief of the nearby territory of Maguana, two of the five highest caciques who ruled the island of Hispaniola when the Spaniards settled there in 1492... - Poem for large orchestra (1974) - dedicated to Tatjana Gsovsky
- Variationen über ein Thema von Tschaikowsky ("Rokoko-Variationen") (1974), for cello and piano
External links
- Boris Blacher page on Boosey & HawkesBoosey & HawkesBoosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and wind musical instruments....
website - Boris Blacher A Centenary Sketch by Dr David C F Wright