He was born in Latvia's capital Riga on September 19, 1894 and passed away in Berlin on February 14, 1963.
Gerhart von Westerman was initially influenced by Strauss and the impressionist composers (as heard in his Two Ballads for baritone and orchestra), and later began to include modernist elements in his compositions, such as in the Intermezzi for orchestra * Devoted
a large part of his work to journalism, radio, the writing of books,
the direction of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra and the Berlin
festival weeks * The Divertimento,
a free, abundantly expressive suite for orchestra, was performed for
the first time by the Berlin Philharmonic under Furtwängler in October
1944 * His melodic patterns are of a characteristic, personal kind, sometimes with a Slavic ring * Von
Westerman's originality, though rooted in late Romanticism, are shown
by his original, refined treatment of harmony and his surprising sense
of colour * His great opera Promethean Fantasy,
to which he himself wrote the libretto, shifts between classical
antiquity and the present to unfold its theme of hubris that has brought
both suffering and love to mankind.
