Joseph Beer

Overview

Joseph Beer’s inspiration can be can be said to be tri-fold in nature: Slavic (Russian/Polish) with Tchaikovsky, Chopin and Scriabin among others, the Viennese School/German (mainly Brahms and Beethoven but also Mendelssohn and Mahler) and Italian (mainly Puccini). 

Despite his living in France for more than half of his life, the only French composers whose influence can be heard are Ravel mainly, and also Bizet at times. 

Traces of Jazz and Klezmer and sundry folk influences can also be detected in Beer’s oeuvre, as the composer believed, along with some of his predecessors such as Brahms, Mahler etc., that in order to be a bona fide classical composer, a musician must first be thoroughly acquainted with the popular level of his musical roots and heritage. 

Periods

Three periods of compositional inspiration, style and technique emerge from Beer’s works:

1 – Youth/Viennese Period: influenced by the Viennese operetta genre in some sense, yet, as Beer’s composition teacher and mentor Josef Marx himself wrote, going far beyond it through the complexity, depth and wealth of compositional genius and technique. Works are churned out in a few weeks by an overly gifted, carefree youth who has been composing since age 7 (starting off by attempting to invent his own musical notation system!!) and to whom the art form comes as easy as reading a newspaper! Main works of this period are Der Prinz von Schiras and Polnische Hochzeit.

2 – War/in Hiding Period: A total shift of inspiration and technique, with further depthening of the intricacy and sophistication of the compositional style and technique. Main work: Stradella in Venedig, entitled "Komische Oper" by the composer himself (and reviewed as a "Comic Opera" of the highest sortïes by the noted Swiss musicologist Kurt Pahlen among others).

3 – Post-War Maturity Period: Another total overhauling of compositional technique where the great composer is in full mastery of his art and puts forth timeless melodies set to lush, idiosyncratic harmonies, and totally innovative and masterful orchestration. Main works: La Polonaise and Mitternachtssonne – composed and finetuned over decades and entitled "Singspiel Oper" by the composer (unpublished).


Conclusion

Beer’s operas are characterized by exquisite, gorgeous and unique arias which remain in the ear – albeit always surprising the listener – set to lush and innovative harmony. They include pieces which are effervescently rhythmical, at times, even jazzy. Altogether, while stemming from the grand romantic tradition, Beer’s style reflects decidedly modernistic influences as well, while being utterly idiosyncratic and bearing its own griffe. In sum, the oeuvre reveals a level of inspired craftsmanship which is truly innovative and unique. It can be easily recognized and set apart from all others, revealing the brilliant work of one of the leading composing masters of the 20th Century.

(Source: https://www.josephbeer.com/Compositions.htm)