Erich Walter Sternberg

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Erich Sternberg

Erich Walter Sternberg (Hebrew: אריך ולטר שטרנברג; May 31, 1891, in Berlin – December 15, 1974, in Tel Aviv) was a German-born Israeli composer. He was one of the founders of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.[1]

Biography

After graduating with a law degree from Kiel University in 1918, Sternberg began studying composition with Hugo Leichtentritt and piano with H. Praetorius in Berlin. From 1925 Sternberg visited Palestine annually and moved there in 1932, along with other Jewish musicians who fled Germany prior to World War II. His life was devoted to composition and teaching of composition. In 1936 he helped Bronisław Huberman found the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and promoted the Palestine chapter of the International Society for Contemporary Music.[1] Sternberg married Frieda Pinner (Berlin, 1918), Ilse Tanja Wellhöner (Tel Aviv, 1936), Ella Thal (Tel-Aviv, 1949).

Music career

Sternberg's works in the 1920s and 1930s were

Shema Yisrael
.

In Berlin, Sternberg received praise for his compositions and many of his pieces were performed by leading ensembles and performers in that city. His String Quartet no.2 was performed by the

chamber orchestra. The work was awarded the Engel Prize in 1946; an award Sternberg earned again in 1960.[2]

Sternberg found it difficult to overcome the trauma of displacement from his German heritage and never felt entirely comfortable in Israel. He was never offered a permanent position at the Palestine Conservatory or the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,[3] although he occasionally taught there as a guest lecturer.[2]

In Palestine, Sternberg's compositional expression returned to nostalgic

Brahms, Max Reger and Richard Strauss
. The work was the first large-scale orchestral composition written in Palestine.

His Capriccio for piano, a concise illustration of his style, displays a contrapuntal elaboration of two brief motifs in

sonata-rondo form, with the movement's harmonic orientation stated by the two opening chords. However, even in his more radical chamber and piano works Sternberg never abandoned tonal orientation.[2]

Sternberg was critical of

fugues.[6]

After 1940, Sternberg frequently turned back to earlier scores, revising many and using material from others for new compositions. Memorable works from the 1940s and 1950s are his

chromatic and modal harmony.[7]

Sternberg's compositional output includes 2

string quartets, 6 orchestral works, several works for piano, works for chorus and orchestra, works for solo singer and orchestra, and numerous songs and folksong arrangements. He also wrote incidental music for the play Amcha (Your People) by S. Aleichem in 1936 and two operas, Dr. Doolittle (1939 Jerusalem) and Pacificia, the Friendly Island (1974). Most of his compositions are part of the collection at the Archives of Israeli Music at Tel Aviv University.[2]

Awards and recognition

In 1971 Sternberg received the high order of merit from the President of the German Federal Republic.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Hirshberg: Music in the Jewish Community of Palestine 1880–1948: a Social History
  2. ^ a b c d e Hirshberg: "Erich Walter Sternberg", Grove Music Online
  3. ^ E.W. Sternberg: ‘Autobiography’, Tatzlil
  4. ^ E.W. Sternberg: Shneim-Asar Shivtei Yisrael [The Twelve Tribes of Israel], Musica hebraica
  5. doi:10.1093/musqtl/gdu010
    – via Oxford Academic.
  6. ^ P.V. Bohlman: The World Centre for Jewish Music in Palestine 1936–40
  7. ^ P. Gradenwitz: The Music of Israel

Bibliography

  • ISBN 0-19-816237-5
  • Peter Gradenwitz: The Music of Israel (Portland, OR, 1996), esp. 370
  • Jehoash Hirshberg: Music in the Jewish Community of Palestine 1880–1948: a Social History (Oxford, 1995)
  • Jehoash Hirshberg: "Erich Walter Sternberg", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed September 18, 2008), (subscription access) Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine
  • E.W. Sternberg: Shneim-Asar Shivtei Yisrael [The Twelve Tribes of Israel], Musica hebraica (1938), 1–2
  • E.W. Sternberg: ‘Autobiography’, Tatzlil, vii (1967), 77–8

External links

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