Bart Berman

Biography

Bart Berman (Hebrew: ברט ברמן; born 29 December 1938) is a Dutch-Israeli pianist and composer, best known as an interpreter of Franz Schubert and 20th-century music.

Career

Bart Berman studied piano with Jaap Spaanderman at a predecessor of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and complemented his piano education with Theo Bruins and a master class by Alfred Brendel. In 1978 he moved to Israel.
As a soloist Berman was awarded the Dutch Prize of Excellence, the first prize in the Gaudeamus Competition for interpreters of contemporary music, the Friends of the Concertgebouw Award and four first prizes at competitions for young soloists. He has performed in Israel, Europe and the United States, as a soloist and in chamber music. Berman was a soloist with many Dutch and Israeli orchestras and has recorded for radio and television.
Collaborations included those with flautist Abbie de Quant (since 1970), Duo 4 with pianist Meir Wiesel, the Tamar Piano Trio with violinist Itzhak Segev and cellist Louis Rowen, as well as ensembles with several vocalists among whom Bat-Sheva Zeisler. Past partnerships include Duo Beer Sheva with the late pianist Sara Fuxon, Ensemble M, and Negev Baroque. From 2004 until 2008 Berman accompanied the remake of Hanoch Levin's satirical cabaret You, Me and the Next War, in 2007 he was the pianist and musical director of Schubert Plus, An Operatic Episode in Two Acts, and during 2011 to 2015 he was a guest soloist with the Zamir Quartet. In 2014 he launched a new program for 4 pianists at 2 pianos, based on Duo 4.
Berman taught piano at the conservatoires of Rotterdam and Arnhem and was an editor of the Israel Music Institute. Among his many students are Cleem Determeijer, Kees van Eersel, Margriet Ehlen, Dror Elimelech, Gerard Houtman, and Matthijs Verschoor.
Berman studied composition with Bertus van Lier and Wouter van den Berg. He has composed many original works, including cadenzas to all piano concerti by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven and second piano parts to be played alongside original compositions by Muzio Clementi and Daniel Steibelt. Most noted are his completions to Schubert's unfinished piano sonatas and J. S. Bach's Art of Fugue.

Composition

Farce of the Cow (1956), theater music for a 1612 play by Gerbrand Bredero
Hans, the Bell Ringer (1956), theater music for a 1923 play by Johan Fabricius
Duo in Mediterranean Style for violin and viola (1957)
Christmas Song on a text by Bertus van Lier for choir a cappella (1957)
Allegro for Orchestra (1958)
Israeli Sonatina for piano (1958)
String Quartet (1958)
Four Melodies for piano (1960, revised 1980)
Three New Canons on the Royal Theme of J. S. Bach: The Musical Offering (1978)
Etude for the Fifths for piano (1992)
Birthday Bunch for piano (1994)
Film music for The Staircase for piano (1995)
Variations and Fugue on a theme by Nikolai Medtner for piano (2009)
Dayenu Fantasy for piano (2014)

Cadenzas

Castiglioni: Arabeschi for flute, piano and orchestra (1974)
The Beethoven piano concerti (1966–1990)
The Mozart solo, double and triple piano concerti (1970–1990)
The Haydn piano concerti (1970–1990)

Completions

J. S. Bach: The Art of Fugue (1970)
Schubert: Unfinished Piano Sonatas (1976–1990)
Mozart: Sonata for Keyboard Four-hands in G major, K. 357 (1991)
Glinka: Sonata in D minor for viola and piano (1999)
Beethoven: Romance in E minor ("Romance Cantabile") for piano, flute, bassoon, and orchestra, Hess 13 (2001)

Piano parts

Second Piano Part for Daniel Steibelt: Sonatina Opus 33 in C (1981)
Right Hand Piano Part for J. S. Bach: Sonatas in E minor and E major (1988)
Second Piano Part for Clementi: Six Sonatinas Opus 36 (1995)