Boris Blacher

Composer Boris Blacher (1903–1975) is regarded as one of the most influential music figures of his time. He was born in the Manchurian town of Niuzhuang, where his parents were living within a Russian-speaking community. 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 Koch. His career was interrupted by National Socialism. He was accused of writing degenerate music (Entartete Kunst), and lost his teaching post at the Dresden Conservatory. After the war, Blacher quickly became a leading composer and teacher within the new German musical establishment. In 1948, he became a professor at the Berlin Musikhochshule, eventually becoming its director in 1953, a position he held until 1970. Blacher’s harmonic language is reminiscent of Hindemith, though texturally his style has a distinctive lightness. His more traditional Variations on a Theme of Paganini for orchestra (1947) are well known. The ballet Lysistrata (1950) was written in the 12-tone method. Other important stage works include the opera Romeo und Julia (1943) and the Rosamunde Floris (1960). In the 1960s, he began to use electronic resources in his compositions.