Martin Berkofsky
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
classical pianist known primarily for his interpretations of music by Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
and Alan Hovhaness
Alan Hovhaness
Alan Hovhaness was an Armenian-American composer.His music is accessible to the lay listener and often evokes a mood of mystery or contemplation...
. He has performed extensively throughout Europe as well as in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
.
Of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
sian ancestry, Berkofsky was a child prodigy; he began giving public performances and making recordings at the age of 8. During his early years he began traveling frequently to Europe to perform and record with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
and Berlin Symphony Orchestra. He studied with the Polish pianist Mieczysław Munz (who had been a student of Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
), with Konrad Wolff
Konrad Wolff
Konrad Wolff was a German pianist and musicologist.He was born in Berlin, Germany, on March 11, 1907. From 1925 to 1930, he studied at the University of Heidelberg and the University of Berlin. He received his Doctor of Law degree at the University of Berlin, and forged lifelong friendships with...
(a student of Artur Schnabel
Artur Schnabel
Artur Schnabel was an Austrian classical pianist, who also composed and taught. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura...
), and Walter Hautzig
Walter Hautzig
-Biography:Hautzig studied under Mieczysław Munz. He has taught master classes to hundreds of students all around the world. He has done tours in Japan over 30 times and has performed for President Jimmy Carter...
(who was a student of both Schnabel and Munz), as well as with Hans Kann in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Berkofsky served as co-director of New York's Long Island Chamber Ensemble for three years. During this time, in 1971, Berkofsky met the composer Alan Hovhaness
Alan Hovhaness
Alan Hovhaness was an Armenian-American composer.His music is accessible to the lay listener and often evokes a mood of mystery or contemplation...
while the group was performing one of the composer's works. Many performances of Hovhaness works followed including a 1971 Carnegie Recital Hall all-Hovhaness concert which premiered "Saturn", Op. 243, which Hovhaness had written for the Ensemble. Hovhaness gave many newly-composed and unrecorded scores to Berkofsky who over the next decades recorded a number of discs of Hovhaness's music.
Berkofsky is known also for his work in the field of musicology. He helped to research and to restore the long-lost Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra
Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (Bruch)
The Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Op. 88a, was written by Max Bruch in 1912. It is in 4 movements, written in the rarely seen key of A flat minor, and takes about 25 minutes to perform....
of Max Bruch
Max Bruch
Max Christian Friedrich Bruch , also known as Max Karl August Bruch, was a German Romantic composer and conductor who wrote over 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin repertoire.-Life:Bruch was born in Cologne, Rhine Province, where he...
. When sole copyright to Bruch's work was claimed by Nathan Twining, the first pianist with whom he recorded the work, he successfully campaigned to return the rights of the music to the family of the composer, allowing them to publish the score with Simrock, Bruch's original publisher. National Public Radio broadcast a four-day series documenting his campaign. Subsequently he recorded the concerto a second time with the pianist David Hagan. Berkofsky also did similar restoration of a duo piano concerto composed jointly by Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
and Ignaz Moscheles
Ignaz Moscheles
Ignaz Moscheles was a Bohemian composer and piano virtuoso, whose career after his early years was based initially in London, and later at Leipzig, where he succeeded his friend and sometime pupil Felix Mendelssohn as head of the Conservatoire.-Sources:Much of what we know about Moscheles's life...
. In addition, he discovered in Paris and subsequently edited and published a previously unknown manuscript by Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
. Together with baritone Ludovic Konya and pianist Ferdinand Weiss he shares three compact discs of the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n composer Nicolae Bretan. Most recently, he recorded, together with the Romanian baritone Alexandru Agache, a new compact disc of Bretan's Romanian lieder. Bretan was removed from Romanian musical life because of his refusal to join the Communist Party: at the invitation of Bretan's daughter, Berkofsky joined the campaign to restore his music to the world.
Since recovering from a serious motorcycle accident which took place in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
in 1982, Berkofsky has donated proceeds from his performances to various charitable causes. He later founded the Cristofori Foundation to facilitate this purpose.
To celebrate his 60th birthday and his successful recovery from cancer, Berkofsky embarked on a marathon concert tour, "Celebrate Life Run," running 880 miles across America's heartland and raising over US$80,000 for cancer research
Cancer research
Cancer research is basic research into cancer in order to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatments and cure....
. A second marathon six years later "All Men are Brothers" named after the symphony by that name of Alan Hovhaness, was run by Berkofsky from the summit of New Hampshire's Mt. Monadnock, to the Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,844 at the 2010 census.-History:...
boyhood home of the composer. A member of the Alan Hovhaness Commemorative Committee, Berkofsky substantially aided in the successful efforts to fund and to unveil the first tangible memorial to Hovhaness.
In 2004, he presented the first Armenian performance of Hovhaness's piano concerto Lousadzak (1944), with the Alan Hovhaness Chamber Orchestra of Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
. Together with pianist Atakan Sarı he gave the world premiere performance in Moscow of Hovhaness' Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra with the Globalis Symphony Orchestra. In 2005 he presented the Turkish premiere of Lousadzak with the Orchestra Academic Başkent, Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, perhaps the first performance of a Hovhaness work in that nation. That same year, his and Atakan Sari's recording of Hovhaness' Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra was released. In November 2006, again with Sarı, he gave the Armenian premiere of the Hovhaness Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
The Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra is the national orchestra of Armenia. It was founded in 1925 as a symphony orchestra of the Yerevan State Conservatory. Now it performs in Khachaturian Hall, Yerevan....
in Yerevan. Another Hovhaness Armenian premiere was given in April, 2008, with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
The Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra is the national orchestra of Armenia. It was founded in 1925 as a symphony orchestra of the Yerevan State Conservatory. Now it performs in Khachaturian Hall, Yerevan....
in Yerevan, this time, Hovhaness' early "Prayer-Piano Concerto for Symphony Orchestra." At the same time, Berkofsky was awarded a Diploma by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia for his services to Armenian music.
Berkofsky has recorded for the Cristofori, Sanctuary/Black Box, Koch International, Crystal, Vox Allegretto, Nimbus, Vox-Turnabout, FONO, Angel, Poseidon Society, and Musical Heritage Society labels. For his charitable work he has been honored by the Voice of America's documentary "American Profiles."
Berkofsky lives in Casanova, Virginia
Casanova, Virginia
Casanova is a small unincorporated community in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States at the intersection of Casanova Rd and Rogues Rd. It is also the location of its own post office, with the zip code 20139. It is home to a local winery....
and is helping to coordinate the project to establish the Alan Hovhaness International Research Centre, a central archive of Hovhaness' work which is being constructed in Yerevan, Armenia.
Discography
- 1972 - Alan Hovhaness: Saturn, Op. 243. Long Island Chamber Ensemble of New York (Kate Hurney, soprano; Lawrence Sobol, clarinet; Martin Berkofsky, piano). LP. New York: Poseidon.
- 1972 - Alan Hovhaness: Khaldis, Op. 91; The Spirit of Ink, Op. 230. Marin Berkofsky, piano; Samuel Baron, flute; Lawrence Sobol, conductor. LP. New York: Poseidon.
- 1974 - Max Bruch: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in A-flat minor, Op. 88a; 6 Klavierstücke, Op. 12; 2 Klavierstücke, Op. 14. Martin Berkofsky, piano; Nathan Twining, piano (in the concerto); London Symphony Orchestra, dir. Antal Dorati. LP. Hollywood, California: Angel.
- 1976 - Johann Sebastian Bach: The Brandenburg Concerti. Transcribed for piano duet by Max Reger. Martin Berkofsky, piano; David Hagan, piano. 2 LPs. Oakhurst, New Jersey: Musical Heritage Society.
- 1978 - Max Bruch: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Op. 88a in A-flat minor; Fantasy for Two Pianos in D minor, Op. 11; Schwedische Tänze (Swedish Dances) for piano four-hands, Op. 63 (originally for violin and piano; arranged by the composer). Martin Berkofsky and David Hagan, pianos; Berlin Symphony Orchestra, dir. Lutz Herbig. LP. Turnabout.
- 1981 - Johann Sebastian Bach: The Four Orchestral Suites, S. 1066-1069. Transcribed for piano duet by Max Reger. Martin Berkofsky, piano; David Hagan, piano (four hands). 2 LPs. Tinton Falls, New Jersey: Musical Heritage Society.
- 1994 - Max Bruch: Works for Violin and Two Pianos (Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor, Op. 26; Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in A-flat minor, Op. 88a; Fantasy for Two Pianos in D minor, Op. 11; Schwedische Tänze (Swedish Dances), for piano four hands, Op. 63. Ruggiero Ricci, violin; Bochum Symphony, dir. Matthias Kuntzsch; Martin Berkofsky, David Hagan, pianos; Berlin Symphony Orchestra, dir. Lutz Herbig. CD. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Vox Allegretto.
- 1997 - Franz Liszt. Piano music played by Martin Berkofsky (Rhapsodie hongroise no. 12; La Vallée d'Obermann; Legende: St. François de Paule marchant sur les flots; Aprés une lecture du Dante (Fantasia quasi Sonata). CD. Casanova, Virginia: Cristofori Foundation.
- 1997 - Alan Hovhaness: Armenian Rhapsodies 1, 2, and 3; My Soul Is a Bird, from Symphony no. 38, Op. 314; Lullaby, from Symphony no. 38, Op. 314; Concerto no. 10 for piano, trumpet, and strings, Op. 413. Hinako Fujihara, coloratura soprano; Scott Goff, flute; Martin Berkofsky, piano; Chris Butler, trumpet; Seattle Symphony Orchestra, dir. Gerard Schwarz. [Austria]: Koch Schwann.
- 1999 - Nicolae Bretan: Sacred Songs. Phyllis Bryn-Julson, soprano; Ludovic Konya, baritone; Ronald Stalford; Donald S. Sutherland, organ; Ferdinand Weiss; Martin Berkofsky, piano. CD. Wyastone Leys, Monmouth: Nimbus.
- 2005 - Alan Hovhaness: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra; Mihr; Ko-ola-u; Vijag; Lousadzak: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. Martin Berkofsky, piano; Atakan Sari, piano; Sergei Podobedov, piano; Nikolai Zherenkov, violin; Globalis Symphony Orchestra, dir. Konstantin Krimets. CD. [England]: Black Box.
- 2007 - Ludwig van Beethoven: Choral Fantasy. Martin Berkofsky, piano; Globalis Symphony Orchestra, dir. Konstantin Krimets, Chorus of the Music College of the Moscow Conservatory. Johanness Brahms: Two Sonatas for clarinet and piano; Einar Johannesson, clarinet; Martin Berkofsky, piano. Robert Schumann: Fantasiestucke for clarinet and piano; Einar Johannesson, clarinet, Martin Berkofsky, piano. CD, Casanova, VA, Cristofori Foundation.
- 2007 - Nicolae Bretan: "The Songs of Nicolae Bretan". Alexandru AgacheAlexandru AgacheAlexandru Agache is a Romanian operatic baritone who has had an active international career since 1979. Possessing a powerful and flexible voice, he has drawn particular acclaim in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi.-Career:...
, baritone, Martin Berkofsky, piano. CD. Wyastone Leys, Monmouth: Nimbus. - 2011 - Franz Liszt: "Visions" piano works; Étude d’exécution transcendante no. 11 “Harmonies du Soir” S 139, Légende no. 1: St. Françoisd’Assise. La prédication aux oiseaux S 173:1,
Légende no. 2: St. François de Paule marchant sur les flots S 173:2, Ave Maria “Die Glocken von Rom” S 182, Hungarian Rhapsody no. 12 S 244, Sancta Dorothea S 187, Étude d’exécution transcendante no. 7 “Vision” S 139, Pater Noster from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses S 173, Martin Berkofsky, piano, Hybrid SACD. Germany, ARTS Music.
Filmography
- I Remember Theodore Roethke (2005). Produced and edited by Jean Walkinshaw. SCCtv (Seattle Community CollegesSeattle Community College DistrictThe Seattle Community College District is a group of community colleges located in Seattle, Washington. It consists of three colleges— North Seattle Community College, Seattle Central Community College , South Seattle Community College —and the Seattle Vocational Institute...
Television). 30 min. (Berkofsky's performances of Alan Hovhaness compositions used in soundtrack.) - A Tribute to Alan Hovhaness (2006). Produced by Alexan Zakyan. Yerevan, Armenia: Alan Hovhaness International Research Centre. 22 minutes. (Berkofsky's performances of Alan Hovhaness compositions used in soundtrack.)
- American Profile: Martin Berkofsky (2008). Produced by Irina Robertson for the Voice of America.