Berta Bock

Berta Johanna Amalie Bock (; 15 March 1857 – 4 April 1945) was a Romanian composer best known for her 1927 opera , and the pantomime-ballets and (1906). She was also a piano and singing teacher.

Early life Berta Johanna Amalie Spech was born on 15 March 1857 in Hermannstadt, Transylvania, Austrian Empire (now Sibiu, Romania) into a musical family. She was the daughter of lawyer Adolf Spech and Berta Amalie von Konradsheim, a novice singer. She was of German Saxon descent. Her grandfather Wilhelm Conrad, Baron von Conradsheim had founded the Hermannstädter Musikverein in Sibiu. Her musical education began as a child, when she was taught piano and theory by the conductor Hermann Bönicke and Berta Spech, and received vocal training from Rosa Pfaff.

Career In her compositions, Bock mainly created text-based pieces. She created choral, church, stage and lieder works,

In 1905, she wrote the pantomime-ballet Klein Elschens, followed by another titled Das erste Veilchen the next year. Both ballets are among her most popular creations. Another one of her popular works was the opera Die Pfingstkrone, which was inspired by Transylvanian Saxon folklore and premiered in 1927. It was performed across Transylvania, including in Bock's native Sibiu in 1927, before being staged in Cleveland, Ohio, in the early 1930s. Some of her other works were also performed in London and Paris.

Works Bock composed an opera, several ballets and songs for voice and piano. Selected works include: Die Pfingstkrone, opera