Continuing our dive into the archives of Swiss Radio. Another composer of note; Jacques Wildberger – his Divertimento for Piano and Orchestra featuring the composer at the piano and Orchestre Cedric Dumont led by Cedric Dumont – recorded on October 20, 1956 in the studios of Swiss Radio.
Jacques Wildberger was born on 3 January, 1922, in Basel. Following studies of piano at the Basel Conservatory, he was introduced to serialist music by Wladimir Vogel (Ascona). Some of Wildberger’s early works were performed at the Darmstadt Summer Courses (1951-1952), Cologne WDR (1956), the Aix-en-Provence Festival (1958), and at Domaine Musical in Paris (1958). In 1953, his Tre Mutazioni for chambre orchestra was premiered at Donaueschingen; in this work, Wildberger sought to balance the influence of the Second Viennese School with that of composers such as Boulez and Blacher. At the same time, Vogel’s influence persisted, notably in Wildberger’s vocal music, e.g., Epitaph for Evariste Galois (1964), the score of which comprises notated gestures for soloists, speaker, speaking choir, tape, and orchestra; La Notte (1967), for mezzo-soprano, five instruments, and tape; and Die Stimme, die alte schwacher werdende Stimme [The voice, the old waning voice] (1973-1974) for soprano, cello, tape, and orchestra. From 1959 to 1966, Wildberger taught composition, analysis, and instrumentation at the Karlsruhe Hochschule, and subsquently, composition and analysis at the Basel Music Academy until 1987. Other works include Du holde Kunst, a “profane representation” for speaker, soprano, and orchestra (1987-1988), Kammerkonzert für Saiteninstrumente und Synthesizer [Chambre Concerto for String Instruments and Synthesiser] (1995-1996), and Commiato for string quartet (1997).
Initially criticized for his dodecaphonic works in Switzerland, he later caused a sensation abroad as the successor to Arnold Schönberg with his twelve-tone compositions. From 1959 to 1966 he taught musical composition, music analysis and instrumentation at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe. After a stay in Berlin as a scholarship holder of the German Academic Exchange Service in 1967, he was professor for music theory and composition at the conservatory of the City of Basel Music Academy from 1967 to 1987.
He died in Riehen at age 84.
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