View source for Gerhart von Westerman

{{short description|German composer}}
{{Infobox classical composer|birth_date=19 September 1894|death_date=14 February 1963|known_for=[[Berliner Festwochen]]}}
'''Gerhart von Westerman''' (19 September 1894 – 14 February 1963) was a German composer, artistic director and music writer.
== Life ==
Born in [[Riga]], after graduating from high school Westerman studied composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where [[Paul Juon]] was his teacher. From 1918 he continued his studies with [[Walter Courvoisier]] and [[August Reuß]] in Munich and received his doctorate in 1921 with a thesis on "[[Giovanni Porta]]  als Opernkomponist".
In Munich he became head of department at the radio station in 1925, later at the radio stations in Berlin and Saarbrücken. In 1939 the [[Berlin Philharmonic]] appointed him as its artistic director (as successor to [[Hans von Benda]]). He held this office until 1945 and then again from 1952 onwards<ref>N.N.: ''Berliner Köpfe - Gerhart von Westermann [sic]''. In ''Berliner Blätter. The house magazine of the Reich capital.'' Edition B, 7th year no. 10, October 1957, {{p.|31}}.</ref> until 1959 from. In 1951 he founded the [[Berliner Festwochen]], which he organized every year from then on until 1959.
[[File:Waldfriedhofdahlelm ehrengrab Westerman, Gerhart von.jpg|thumb|{{center|Westerman's grave}}]]
Westerman died in Berlin at the age of 68. He is buried at the [[Waldfriedhof Dahlem]]. His grave is marked as dedicated as {{Ill|Liste der Ehrengräber in Berlin|de|3=Liste der Ehrengräber des Landes Berlin|lt=Grave of honour of the state of Berlin}}
== Works ==
=== Orchestral pieces ===
*''Serenade'', op. 7, 1928
*''Intermezzi'', op. 9, 1929
*''Divertimento'', op. 16, 1940
=== Operas ===
*''Prometheische Phantasie'', composition and libretto, [[premiere]] 1960 in Dortmund
*''Rosamunde Floris'', libretto, music by [[Boris Blacher]], premiere 1960 in Berlin
=== Books ===
* ''Das russische Volkslied, wie es heute gesungen wird''.<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/250359836 ''Das russische Volkslied, wie es heute gesungen wird''] on WorldCat</ref> Orchis Verlag, 1922
* ''Knaurs Konzertführer''.<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/316292694 ''Knaurs Konzertführer''] on WorldCat</ref> Droemersche Verlagsanstalt, 1951
* ''Knaurs Opernführer'', Droemersche Verlagsanstalt, 1952
== Awards==
* 1962: [[Berliner Kunstpreis]]
== Further reading ==
* ''Gerhart von Westerman. Eine kleine Monographie.''<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/13492003 ''Gerhart von Westerman. Eine kleine Monographie.''] on WorldCat</ref> Bote & Bock, Berlin/Wiesbaden 1959 (with contributions by [[Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt]] and [[Peter Wackernagel]], also contains a catalogue raisonné).
* [[Friedrich Herzfeld]]: ''Das Lexikon der Musik.''<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1069772850 ''Das Lexikon der Musik''] on WorldCat</ref> Ullstein, Frankfurt/Berlin/Vienna 1976.
* Gerhart von Westerman, Karl Schumann: ''Knaurs Opernführer.''<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/243796020 ''Knaurs Opernführer''] on WorldCat</ref> [[paperback]] Nr. 216.
* Helmut Scheunchen: ''Lexikon deutschbaltischer Musik.''<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52478140 ''Das Lexikon der Musik mit 4500 Stichwörtern''] on WorldCat</ref> ''Lexikon deutschbaltischer Musik'', Verlag Harro von Hirschheydt, Wedemark-Elze 2002. {{ISBN|3-7777-0730-9}}, {{pp.|286|287}}.
* {{Ill|Carola L. Gottzmann|de}}, Petra Hörner: ''{{Ill|Lexikon der deutschsprachigen Literatur des Baltikums und St. Petersburgs|de}}''.<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/874142608 ''Lexikon der deutschsprachigen Literatur des Baltikums und St. Petersburgs''] on WorldCat</ref> [[Walter de Gruyter]], Berlin 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-11-019338-1}}, {{pp.|1399|1401}}.
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{DNB portal|11876747X}}
*[http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main.asp?site-lang=de&composerid=15104 Bild des Komponisten und Ausführungen zu seinem Kompositionsstil]
*[http://openlibrary.org/a/OL133431A/Gerhart_von_Westerman Bücher von Westerman]
* [https://archiv.adk.de/bigobjekt/29678 Gerhart-von-Westerman-Archiv] at the [[Academy of Arts, Berlin]]
* [[Baltische Historische Kommission]] [https://bbld.de/0000000115695878 Westerman(n), Gerhart v. (1894-1963)] on ''{{Ill|Baltisches biografisches Lexikon digital|de}}''
{{Portal bar|Classical music|Germany}}
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[[Category:1894 births]]
[[Category:1963 deaths]]
[[Category:Musicians from Riga]]
[[Category:20th-century German classical composers]]
[[Category:German opera composers]]
[[Category:German opera librettists]]
[[Category:People of Baltic German descent]]