Moses Pergament
Pergament in 1963
Pergament in 1963
Background information
Born21 September 1893
Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland
Died5 March 1977(1977-03-05) (aged 83)
Stockholm, Sweden
GenresClassical
Occupation(s)Composer, conductor
Years active1917–1975
Spouse(s)Ilse Maria Kutzleb (1923–1960)

Moses Pergament (21 September 1893 – 5 March 1977) was a Finnish-Swedish composer, conductor, and music critic. He is largely seen as one of the most influential figures in the first generation of Swedish modernism.[1]

Biography

Education

Pergament studied music at various locations across Europe during his youth, including at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1908 and 1912 under Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov and Leopold Auer. He returned to Finland briefly after the outbreak of WWI, studying at the University of Helsinki, and later moved to Sweden and studied at the University of Stockholm in 1919, gaining Swedish citizenship a year prior. He studied at the Stern Conservatory of Berlin from 1921 to 1923.[2]

Career

He was a composer of primarily classical music,[3] having written four string quarters, a violin concerto, two piano concertos, and the choral symphony Den judiska sången, as well as various a cappella choir compositions. He made his compositional debut in Finland in 1914.[4] He has also composed compositions for various Swedish films, one of them being Barabbas in 1953.

Pergament conducted both orchestras and choirs during his time as a composer. He was a music critic at the Svenska Dagbladet in 1923.[5] In the 1940s, the Lund University choir would perform some of his a capella compositions during a tour in the United States.[6]

His symphony, Den judiska sången, was a piece that became famous among European Jewry due to its basis in the ongoing Holocaust in Europe at the time.[7] The composition, along with others that he would write, held many influences of Yiddish language and culture.[2]

In 1952, he became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. In 1967, he received the Medaljen för tonkonstens främjande.

Personal life

He married Ilse Maria Kutleb in 1923; she passed away in 1960. He died in Stockholm in 1977 at the age of 83.[8]

He is the brother of Finnish composer Simon Parmet[9] as well as uncle to Finnish pianist Erna Tauro through his brother Isak.[10]

Selected works

  • Duo for violin and cello op. 28 (1917)
  • Sonata for violin and piano (1920)
  • Krelantems och Eldeling, ballet music for orchestra (1921)
  • String Quartet No. 1 (1922)
  • Rapsodia ebraica (1935)[11]
  • Swedish Rhapsody for orchestra (1941)
  • Den judiska sången ("Jewish song"), choral symphony for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1944)
  • Dibbuk (1948)
  • String Quartet No. 2; Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra (1952)
  • Cellokonzert (1954)
  • Concerto for cello and orchestra (1955)
  • Five sketches for string quartet (1956)
  • Concerto for viola and orchestra (1964)
  • String Quartet No. 3 (1967)
  • Sonata for flute and piano (1968)
  • String Quartet No. 4; Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra (1975)

Film soundtracks

References

  1. ↑ Rosengren, Henrik (2019-01-29), "Jewishness, Internationalism and the Swedish Music Scene – The Reception of Moses Pergament", A Cultural History of the Avant-Garde in the Nordic Countries 1925–1950, Brill, pp. 849–859, ISBN 978-90-04-38829-1, retrieved 2023-08-18
  2. 1 2 "Moses Pergament". Jewish Music and Theatre. Retrieved 18 Aug 2023.
  3. ↑ "Moses Pergament". www.wisemusicclassical.com. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  4. ↑ ""A Wagner of the Jews" – Moses Pergament". My Helsinki. 2022-05-23. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  5. ↑ "Den fynske Komponist har Sukces". Den Danske Pioneer (in Danish). 12 Feb 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 18 Aug 2023.
  6. ↑ "LUND UNIVERSITY SINGERS TO GIVE CONCERT". The Headlight. 8 May 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 18 Aug 2023.
  7. ↑ Anthony, Michael (8 Mar 1985). "Critics' choice". Star Tribune. pp. 8C. Retrieved 8 Aug 2023.
  8. ↑ "Moses Pergament | Jewish Music Research Centre". jewish-music.huji.ac.il. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  9. ↑ "Fragment of a letter by Simon Parmet to his brother Moses Pergament". jewishmusicandtheatre. 13 Jun 2016. Retrieved 18 Sep 2023.
  10. ↑ "The Archives of Erna Tauro". European Jewish Archives Portal (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  11. ↑ "Rapsodia ebraica (Hebrew Rhapsody) | Moses Pergament – Daniels' Orchestral Music Online". Retrieved 2023-08-18.
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