Musicאריך ולטר שטרנברג

Erich Walter Sternberg

Erich Walter Sternberg was a German-born Israeli composer and one of the founders of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

1891 to 1974Co-founding the Israel Philharmonic OrchestraThe cantata YishtabakhThe Twelve Tribes of Israel variationsTwo Engel Prizes

Born: 31 May 1891, Berlin
Died: 15 December 1974, Tel Aviv
Occupation: composer
Education: Kiel University

Erich Walter Sternberg was born in 1891 in Berlin

Sternberg was born in Berlin on May 31, 1891. His father, Philipp, was a physician. He studied law in Geneva, Kiel and Berlin, and earned a law degree from Kiel University in 1918.

In 1918 he began studying composition with Hugo Leichtentritt in Berlin. His works of the 1920s were performed in Berlin, including by the Berlin Philharmonic. They drew on Hindemith and Schoenberg and on traditional Jewish melodies.

From 1925 he visited the Land of Israel, and he settled in Tel Aviv in the early 1930s. In 1936 he helped Bronisław Huberman found the orchestra that became the Israel Philharmonic. He headed the local branch of the International Society for Contemporary Music and taught composition, sometimes as a guest lecturer.

His works include orchestral pieces such as The Twelve Tribes of Israel and Joseph and his Brethren, chamber music, choral songs and 2 operas. He won the Engel Prize twice. He died in Tel Aviv on December 15, 1974, and was buried in Holon.