Christian Wilhelm Berger (born 13 June 1964 in Bucharest

Bucharest

Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....

) is a Romanian

Romanians

The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....

 composer, organist

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

, and a Lecturer at the Bucharest Academy.

Education

Berger studied piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 at George Enescu

George Enescu

George Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Enescu was born in the village of Liveni , Dorohoi County at the time, today Botoşani County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical...

 Music School in Bucharest

Bucharest

Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....

 from 1970-1982. He studied composition at the Music Academy in Bucharest, with Prof. Aurel Stroe and Prof. Tiberiu Olah from 1983–1987, and received his Ph. D.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 at Gheorghe Dima Music Academy

Gheorghe Dima Music Academy

Gheorghe Dima Music Academy is an educational institution in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Founded in 1919, it has various sections, including musicology, musical pedagogy, canto, coregraphic pedagogy, and opera. A notable alumnus is Christian Wilhelm Berger....

 in Cluj-Napoca

Cluj-Napoca

Cluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...

, with Prof. Cornel Tãranu in 1994. Berger privately studied the pipe organ

Pipe organ

The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...

 with Ilse Maria Reich who was an organ player at a Lutheran Church in Bucharest, and with Eckart Schlandt, an organ player at the Black Church

Biserica Neagra

Biserica Neagră or Black Church is a cathedral in Brașov, a city in south-eastern Transylvania, Romania. It was built by the German community of the city and stands as the main Gothic style monument in the country, as well as being the largest and one of the most important Lutheran places of...

 in Braşov

Brasov

Brașov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brașov County.According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 284,596 people living within the city of Brașov, making it the 8th most populated city in Romania....

.

Currently, Berger teaches orchestration at the National Music University in Bucharest.

Distinctions

Berger is a recipient of an Honor Diploma in 1989 at the Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....

 International String Quartet Composition Competition, in Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

, Germany

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...

 for his String quartet no. 3, op. 9. In 1994, he took 2nd Prize at the Ernest Bloch

Ernest Bloch

Ernest Bloch was a Swiss-born American composer.-Life:Bloch was born in Geneva and began playing the violin at age 9. He began composing soon afterwards. He studied music at the conservatory in Brussels, where his teachers included the celebrated Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe...

 International Composition Contest for String Orchestra in Lugano

Lugano

Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...

, Switzerland for “Cogito ergo sum…”, and 3rd Prize at the Orgelmusik (organ music) 2000 International Composition Contest for the Organ in 1995 at Ingolstadt

Ingolstadt

Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...

, Germany for Evocation for organ. Berger was awarded the George Enescu

George Enescu

George Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Enescu was born in the village of Liveni , Dorohoi County at the time, today Botoşani County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical...

Prize of the Romanian Academy

Romanian Academy

The Romanian Academy is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 acting members who are elected for life....

 in 1995 for Inscription in Stone for organ.

As an organist

Berger has performed numerous solo recitals in Romania (Bucharest, Braşov, Timişoara

Timisoara

Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...

, Cluj-Napoca

Cluj-Napoca

Cluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...

, Târgu-Mureş

Târgu-Mures

Târgu Mureș is the seat of Mureș County in the north-central part of Romania. As of January 1, 2009 the city had a population of 145,151 inhabitants, making it the 16th most-populated city in Romania.-Names and etymology:...

, etc.) and in Germany (Munchen, Ingolstadt

Ingolstadt

Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...

, Weinsberg

Weinsberg

Weinsberg is a town in the north of the German state Baden-Württemberg. It was founded ca. 1200 and is situated in the Heilbronn district. The town has about 11,800 inhabitants. It is noted for its wine...

, Augsburg

Augsburg

Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...

, etc.) and concerts with orchestras in Romania with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra

George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra

The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra is a musical institution of Romania.Founded in 1886, under the supervision of Eduard Wachman, the Romanian Philharmonic Society had as purpose the creation of a permanent symphonic orchestra in Bucharest...

, the National Broadcast Symphony Orchestra, and Philharmonic Orchestras from Craiova, Ploieşti, Bacău, and Târgu-Mureş.

Compositions

• Symphony no. 1, op. 3, with organ (1987)
• Symphony no. 2, op. 11 (1989)
• Symphony no. 3, op. 12 (1990)
• Symphony no. 4, op. 15 (1993)
• String quartet no. 1, op. 2 (1986)
• String quartet no. 2, op. 6 (1987)
• String quartet no. 3, op. 9 (1988)
• Cogito ergo sum... for string orchestra, op. 16 (1994)
• Stanzas for organ, op. 1 (1986)
• Concert for solo organ, op. 5 (1987; Ed. Muzicala, Bucharest, 1992)
• Sonata for organ, op. 10 (1990)
• Invocation for organ, op. 13 (1991)
• Inscription in stone for organ, op. 14 (1993)
• Evocation for organ, op. 17 (1995)
• Sonata for three flutes, op. 4 (1987)
• Sonata for violin, op. 8, (1988)
• Prelude and passacaglia for clarinet and kettledrums (1986)

Works of musicology

• Decaphonic modal model, in Muzica, nr.3, 1991
• Dynamic modal systems (Ph.D.Thesis)
• Franz Liszt at Bucharest and Iaşi
• The technical and expression characteristics of the modern orchestra instruments, National Music University, Bucharest, 2000
• The Organ (manuscript)

External links

• Universitatea Nationala de Muzica (Italian)