Bernhard Heinrich Romberg (November 13, 1767 – August 13, 1841), was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 cellist and composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

.

Life

Romberg was born at Dinklage. His father, Anton Romberg, played the bassoon

Bassoon

The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...

 and cello

Cello

The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

 and gave Bernhard his first cello lessons. He first performed in public at the age of seven. In addition to touring Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 with his cousin Andreas Romberg

Andreas Romberg

Andreas Jakob Romberg was a German violinist and composer. Romberg learned the violin from his musician father Gerhard Heinrich Romberg and first performed in public at the age of six. In addition to touring Europe, Romberg also joined the Münster Court Orchestra...

, Bernhard Romberg also joined the Münster

Münster

Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...

 Court

Royal court

Royal court, as distinguished from a court of law, may refer to:* The Royal Court , Timbaland's production company*Court , the household and entourage of a monarch or other ruler, the princely court...

 Orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

.

Together with his cousin, he later joined the court orchestra of the Prince Elector Archbishop of Cologne in Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

 (conducted by the Kapellmeister

Kapellmeister

Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...

 Andrea Luchesi

Andrea Luchesi

Andrea Luca Luchesi was an Italian composer.- Biography :Andrea Luchesi was born at Motta di Livenza, near Treviso the eleventh child of Pietro Luchese and Caterina Gottardi. The rather wealthy family descended from groups of noble families who had moved from Lucca to Venice in the 14th century...

) in 1790, where they met the young Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...

. Beethoven admired and respected Bernhard Romberg as a musician. However, Romberg had difficulty understanding some of Beethoven's musical ideas, and rejected Beethoven's offer of a cello concerto for him, saying that he primarily performed his own compositions

Romberg is notable for several innovations in cello design and performance. He lengthened the cello's fingerboard

Fingerboard

The fingerboard is a part of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument and above which the strings run...

 and flattened the side under the C string, thus giving it more freedom to vibrate. He suggested that half-size and 3/4 size cellos should be designed to make it easier for young children to play the instrument. Romberg is responsible for simplifying cello notation to only three clefs, the bass clef, the tenor clef and the treble clef. Until his time, it was common to use many clefs for multiple uses - the 18th century cellist-composer Luigi Boccherini

Luigi Boccherini

Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini was an Italian classical era composer and cellist whose music retained a courtly and galante style while he matured somewhat apart from the major European musical centers. Boccherini is most widely known for one particular minuet from his String Quintet in E, Op. 11, No...

 used as many as six clefs in his compositions. Romberg is thought to be among the first cellists to perform from memory, which was a skill praised highly in his day. He died at Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

.

It has been suggested (by several of the authors quoted as references to the article in that link) that Romberg's cello sonata in E minor was a strong influence on the first cello sonata

Cello Sonata No. 1 (Brahms)

The Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38, actually entitled "Sonate für Klavier und Violoncello", was written by Johannes Brahms in 1862–5.-Background:...

 in E minor by Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...

.

Works with Opus number

• Opus 1, string quartets 1-3
  • String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat Major
  • String Quartet No. 2 in B-flat Major
  • String Quartet No. 3 in D Major
• Opus 2, Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Major, for cello and orchestra
• Opus 3, Grand Concerto No. 2 in D Major, for cello with orchestra
• Opus 4, Potpourris
  Potpourri (music)
  Potpourri or Pot-Pourri is a kind of musical form structured as ABCDEF..., the same as medley or, sometimes, fantasia. It is often used in light, easy-going and popular types of music....
  
   in G Major for cello and string quartet (Also transcribed as Three Duos for violin and cello)
• Opus 5, Three Sonatas for cello (or violin) and harp (or piano)
• Opus 6, Concerto No. 3 in G Major, for cello and orchestra (also reduced as Three Grand Sonatas, for piano with accompaniment of violin)
• Opus 7, Cello Concerto No.4 in E minor
• Opus 8, Grand Trio in F Major for string trio
  String trio
  A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. The term is generally used with reference to works of chamber music from the Classical period to the present.-History:...
  
  
• Opus 9, 3 duos for 2 cellos (also transcribed for violin and cello)
  • No.1, Duet in D Major
  • No.2, Duet in F major
  • No.3, Duet in E minor
• Opus 11, Overture for orchestra
• Opus 12, Quartet No.4 (2 violins, viola, cello)
• Opus 13, Variations in A Minor for cello and orchestra
• Opus 14, Airs Russes for cello and orchestra
• Opus 17, Flute concerto in B minor (Also published as opus 30)
• Opus 18, Variations et Rondo in E-flat Major for harp (or piano), violin, viola and cello
• Opus 20, Variations sur deux airs russes in D Minor for cello and strings
• Opus 21, Rondoletto per violoncello principale con strings in A Major
• Opus 22, Piano Quartet
• Opus 23, Trauer-Symphonie in C Minor
• Opus 25, String Quartets 5-7
  • String Quartet No.5 in G Minor
  • String Quartet No.6 in C Minor
  • String Quartet No.7 in G Major
• Opus 26, Overture to Opera: Ulysse et Circe
• Opus 28, Capriccio sur des aire nationaux suédois for cello and piano (also Symphony in E-flat Major)
• Opus 30, Concerto No. 5 in F-sharp Minor for cello and orchestra
• Opus 31, Concerto No. 6 in F Major (Militaire) for cello and orchestra
• Opus 33, 2 duos for 2 cellos
• Opus 34, Concert Overture
• Opus 35, Elegie sur la mort d'un objet chéri for cello and string orchestra
• Opus 36, Duos for 2 cellos
• Opus 37, String Quartet No 8 in A Major
• Opus 38, Three Sonatas for Cello and Piano (also Three Trios for viola and two cellos)
  • No.1, Cello Sonata in E minor
  • No.2, Cello Sonata in G Major
  • No.3, Cello Sonata in B-flat Major
• Opus 39, String Quartet No 9 in D Minor
• Opus 41, Concertino in E minor for cello and orchestra
• Opus 42, Divertimento on Swedish National Themes
• Opus 43, 3 Sonatas (Also played as trios for viola, cello and bass). (and as duos for 2 cellos).
  • No.1, Cello Sonata in Bb Major
  • No.2, Cello Sonata in C Major
  • No.3, Cello Sonata in G Major
• Opus 44, Concerto No. 7 in C Major (Suisse) for cello and orchestra
• Opus 46, Divertimento from Austrian Folksongs for cello and guitar
• Opus 48, Concerto No. 8 in A Major (Brillant) for cello and orchestra
• Opus 49, Souvenir de Vienne, grosses rondo brillant, for cello and piano (originally with orchestra)
• Opus 50, Theme and Variations for cello and piano
• Opus 51, Concertino, for cello and piano or orchestra in D minor
• Opus 52, – Airs Russes for cello and piano
• Opus 53, Symphony in C major (published 1830 by Haslinger)
• Opus 55, Fantaisie sur des airs norvégiens in D Minor for cello and piano
• Opus 56 , Concerto No. 9 in B Minor (Grand) for cello and orchestra
• Opus 57, Concertino for cello and orchestra
• Opus 58, Fantaisie sur des airs norvégiens pour violoncelle et piano
• Opus 59, String Quartet No. 10 in A Minor
• Opus 60, String Quartet No. 11 in E Major
• Opus 61, Theme with Variations and Rondo for cello and piano
• Opus 62, Symphonie burlesque (toy symphony)
• Opus 65, Divertimento on Westphalian National Themes for cello and string quartet
• Opus 70, Grande fantaisie for cello accompanied by string quartet or piano
• Opus 71, Divertissement for piano trio
• Opus 72, Concertino in A for two cellos and orchestra
• Opus 75, Op. 75 – Concerto No. 10 in E Major (Brillant), for cello and orchestra
• Opus 76, Introduction and Polonaise for cello and piano

Works by Bernhard and Andreas Romberg

• Opus 1, Three Quintets for flute, violin, two violas and cello
  • Quintet 1 in D Major
  • Quintet 2 in C Major
  • Quintet 3 in G Major (written only by Bernhard Romberg)
• Opus 2, 3 Concertante Duos for violin and cello

Works without Opus number

• Oeuvres Posthumes, 6 Morceaux Élégants for cello and piano
  • No.1, La réponse, Fantaisie
  • No.2, Divertissement
  • No.3, Notturno
  • No.4, Sérénade
  • No.5, Bagatella
  • No.6, Introduzione e Rondo giocoso
• Le Rêve, pièce de fantaisie for cello and string quartet (or piano)
• Two Canons
• Recitative and Aria in B-flat Major for cello and orchestra
• Pièce pour les amateurs sur des airs suedois for cello and string quartet
• Cantabile et thème varié suivis d'un allegretto for cello and piano
• Variations in A Minor for cello and orchestra
• Variations in E Major for cello and piano
• Trois themes de W. A. Mozart
  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
  
  , variés pour violon et violoncelle
• Double Concerto, for violin, cello, and orchestra
• Divertimento sur des airs autrichiens, for cello and piano
• Violoncello studies, three books
• A Complete Theoretical and Practical School for the Violoncello

Media

External links

• biography of Bernhard Romberg, focusing on his cello works and performance
• Romberg public domain duets scores