An upcoming concert and two new recordings show a resurgence of interest in the music of Ben Weber (1916-1979), a composer whose work was championed and admired by such diverse musical personalities as Leonard Bernstein, John Cage, and Milton Babbitt .

A concert of Weber's music is to take place at the Miller Theater in New York City on December 1, 1999 including world premiere tributes to Weber's life and work by Milton Babbitt, Michael Colgrass, Lou Harrison, Ned Rorem , Francis Thorne, and Roger Tréfousse. The concert will include Weber's final work, Capriccio, as well as his Fantasia, Concert Aria after Solomon, Prelude and Nocturne, Two Songs, Three Capriccios, and Five Pieces for Cello and Piano.

In addition, there is an upcoming recording of Weber's work by Gilbert Kalish and Joel Krosnick , and the pianist Stephen Hough recently received a Grammy Award for his recording of Weber's "Fantasia" .

Born in St. Louis on July 23, 1916, Weber attended the University of Chicago and De Paul University where he studied medicine, music education, singing, and piano. He received encouragement from Arnold Schoenberg and Artur Schnabel , although he was largely self-taught as a composer. Weber was the first American composer to use the 12-tone technique consistently, although his music often had what Weber described as "strong functional and tonal impetus."

After moving to New York City in the 1940s, Weber's music began to attract attention and he was the recipient of many awards including two Guggenheim Fellowships and awards from the Fromm Foundation.

The poet Frank O'Hara said that "the originality of Ben Weber's work is not conceptual or technical, but rather emotional and perceptual; his excursions into rarities of sensibility are accomplished by means proceeding from our most recent traditions and applied with his own individual and inimitable taste."

For information about the upcoming concert contact the Miller Theater box office at (212) 854-7799.

N.M.

·Essays by Morton
 Feldman Re-Published

·B&H Acquires New
 Rachmaninoff Copyrights

·Masterprize Invites
 Submissions

·Renewed Interest in
 Ben Weber

·Deborah Borda Joins
 LA Phil Association

·Chamber Music
 Magazine Returns
 to Newstands &
 Announces New
 Awards

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