Erich Berner

Erich Berner was born on 15 August 1892 Rixdorf (today a part of Berlin, Germany). The family moved to Nuremberg during his childhood. Erich Berner made his first musical steps at the piano and studied with Wilhelm Dieß in Munich. In 1911 Erich Berner enrolled at the Leipzig conservatory and studied under Richard Hofmann (instrumentation), Max Wünsche (piano) and Otto Wittenbecher (music theory, composition). For unknown reasons he left Leipzig only a year later and it is unclear where he continued his studies and what they were. Because in 1920 Erich Berner enrolled at the Munich university, attended a teachers training course and finally finished his studies in 1925 with a PhD in modern languages. It seems that Erich Berner started to study music, maybe finished it but in any case changed his mind and switched to a career as a language teacher.
There is little information about the first steps in the job history of Erich Berner. It exists a letter by him from 1929 that connects him to the city of Rüstringen in the north of Germany. In 1936 Erich Berner became a Studienrat, in 1940 a Studienprofessor and between 1939 and 1949 he worked as a teacher in Weissenburg in Bavaria. He then moved to Eichstätt where he taught at the gymnasium for one and half a year. In 1951 Erich Berner finally moved to Ingolstadt where he lectured at the Christoph-Scheiner-Gymnasium until his retirement in 1958.
Erich Berner died on 14 September 1966 in Ingolstadt (Germany). 

In my possession is the musical estate of Erich Berner. There are no information about the composer Erich Berner. It seems that he kept his works private or they were performed only in very small occasions because newspapers or archives deliver nothing about him. His work catalogue contains:

  • operas (Der natürlich Sohn, Die Verwegenen)
  • singspiele (Gebratene Erbsen, Eine Freundin für Herrn Braun, Die drei Wünsche, Schanni und Hanni, Wanda und die Sonne, Das Wunder am Amazonas)
  • Das Zirndorfer Krippenspiel
  • Piano concerto (only the first movement exists)
  • Die Jadestadt, for voice and ensemble
  • Maientanz, for orchestra
  • Enids Ritter, play (text by Erich Berner, music at will) (premiered 1930 in Buxtehude)
  • two songs collections: Tabeafest, Evangelischer Heimatkalender 50
  • Missa qvam qvam, for choir
  • a "Large motet" and a "Small motet"
  • 15 atonal piano pieces
  • 18 marches and dances, for piano
  • Atonal sonata for violin and cello
  • Atonal trio for violin, viola and cello
  • String quartet
  • Violin sonata
  • Sonata for 2 violins and piano
  • Cello sonata
  • Sonata for violin, cello and piano