Roberto Gerhard

Robert Gerhard i Otten Forests ( born September 25, 1896 in Valls, † January 5, 1970 in Cambridge ) was a Spanish composer.

Life

His father, Robert Gerhard, came from Switzerland, his mother Mary née Otten Forests from Alsace. They had settled down and operated a wine trade in Valls.

After childhood and schooling in Spain Robert Gerhard ( Jr. ) began at the age of 12 years on his father's request, a business education in Lausanne ( Switzerland ). At the age of 17 years, however, he broke it off and went to Munich to study at the Royal Academy of Music. The outbreak of the First World War destroyed his plans and he returned to Valls.

From 1915 he studied piano in Barcelona at Enrique Granados and composition with Felip Pedrellian. In 1923 he went to Vienna, where he continued his studies with Arnold Schoenberg. He followed this to Berlin, where he graduated in Schoenberg's master class at the Academy of Music in 1928 his studies.

On his return to Spain he was initially employed as a music teacher in Barcelona. From 1932 his work concurred with the Catalan Library. Here he worked as a composer and lecturer; In addition, he served as publisher of Catalan music. During this time his collaboration with renowned artists such as Miró and Massine fell.

Mid-1930s, he emigrated because of the Spanish Civil War to Paris and later to England. There he settled finally in Cambridge down because the local university granted him a scholarship. Besides his work at the University of Cambridge he held in the 1960s, guest lectures in the United States.

In England he found, however, as an emigrant very difficult recognition as a composer. The international breakthrough of his works should actually take place only in the 1960s; this was done mainly by the composition of commissioned works and their highly publicized performances. In 1960 he took on British citizenship.

Robert Gerhard died in 1970 in Cambridge. His hand Signatures and his private archive are stored in the Cambridge University Library.

Work

His compositional work is very complex. It is because of his background shaped by elements of Catalan folk music and their music-making. On the other hand, it also reflects his musical exploration of the twelve-tone technique his teacher Schoenberg. His compositions mainly include operas, ballets, suites, symphonies and songs, as well as other orchestral and vocal works.