Joseph Beer

(1908-1987)

 Composer-in-Residence (In Memoriam)
(www.JosephBeerComposer.com)

The Composer
The Operas
Reviews

 The Composer

The son of a wealthy banker and a devoted “Jewish mother,” Joseph Beer was born on May 7, 1908 and grew up in L’vov, a Polish city known today as L’viv, Ukraine. He attended the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna where he became of protégé of the renowned composer and teacher, Josef Marx, graduating with highest honors in 1931.

In 1934, at age 25, Joseph Beer saw his first opera, Der Prinz Von Schiras, premiere at the Zurich Opera with international broadcast. Two years later, his second opera, Polnische Hochzeit, was similarly premiered. Both works to texts by Vienna’s foremost librettist Fritz Löhner-Beda, they won wide critical acclaim. During the eleven months following its premiere, Polnische Hochzeit was performed throughout Europe on some forty stages and translated into eight languages. With the attendant acclaim and publicity, the young composer’s star was on the rise and a bright future lay ahead.

The year was 1938. With the coming to power of a Nazi government in Austria, Joseph Beer's brilliant ascent in the opera world was short-circuited and the operas of the “Jew Beer” banned from performance. With his career halted and his life in peril, the composer fled to Nice, France. There he continued to compose throughout the war without benefit of a piano, hearing all of the instruments of the orchestra in his head. He was still earning a living as a composer. Only now, he was compelled to sell his works for other musicians to claim as their own.

At war’s end, learning that his beloved father, mother and younger sister had perished in the Holocaust, Joseph Beer recoiled from success. Permanently scarred by their loss, he stubbornly resisted offers from major houses and refused to do business with many of his former colleagues in the music business, feeling that they had collaborated with the Nazi regime.

Despite his recalcitrance, some works were performed, among which was his next opera, Stradella. It premiered at the Zurich Opera House in 1949, but the composer did little to encourage subsequent  performances.

Regardless of the lack of public recognition, Joseph Beer persisted in his life’s passion until his death. He composed tirelessly, day in and day out, authoring his own imaginative libretti. He did take time, however, for scholarly research. In 1966, he earned a Doctorate in musicology from the Sorbonne under the direction of Vladimir Jankelevitch, receiving Mention Très Honorable et Félicitations du Jury.

Dr. Beer died in Nice on November 23, 1987, having left behind a large body of work which he ceaselessly revised and polished until his passing. Yet to be performed are two singspiel operas, La Polonaise, and  Mitternachtssonne.

Currently, Joseph Beer’s widow and collaborator of four decades, Hanna Beer, as well as his daughter, International Soprano Béatrice Beer, are actively promoting the composer’s operas. Ms. Beer has been performing her father’s music in specially crafted concerts to critical acclaim internationally, among others in France, Germany, and in the United States, in Washington, D.C., New York City to name but a few. She is slated for recitals in Vienna, Austria, Tel Aviv, Israel, and for a concert tour of France this winter.

The Operas

Joseph Beer’s operas can be said to be tonal in nature, filled with exquisite arias which remain in the ear, set to lush and innovative harmony. They include pieces which are effervescently rhythmical, at times, even jazzy. Although suggestive of the grand romantic tradition, his style reflects decidedly modernistic influences ranging from Mahler and Ravel to Scriabin, with hints of Gershwin and Weill. In sum, the works reveal a level of inspired craftsmanship which is truly unique.

 For more detail on the life and works of Joseph Beer, as well as on-going performances of his works, please visit www.JosephBeerComposer.com

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