Arthur Berger, 91; Composer and Critic Also Taught Music
Arthur Berger, 91, a leading composer, critic, music analyst and teacher, died Tuesday at a Boston hospital of heart failure.
Born in New York City, Berger studied music at Harvard, New York University and the Sorbonne. While in Paris, he also studied with Nadia Boulanger, the composer and conductor.
In his early 20s, Berger became a member of the Young Composers Group, whose mentor was Aaron Copland. Years later, he published the first book-length study of Copland.
Berger began his teaching career at Mills College in Oakland in 1939 before turning to music criticism, taking a post with the New York Sun in 1943 and the New York Herald Tribune in 1946. He was also one of the founders of the periodical Perspectives of New Music.
He resumed teaching in the early 1950s at Brandeis University and later the New England Conservatory of Music.
Although his orchestral work “Ideas of Order” was premiered by the New York Philharmonic in 1952, Berger’s primary interest was in chamber music.
His book, “Reflections of an American Composer,” was published in 2000.
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