Sergiu Natra


Sergiu Natra is an Israeli composer.
Natra compositions include, among others, "Symphony in Red, Blue, Yellow and Green for symphony orchestra", "Horizons Symphony for symphony string orchestra", "Invincible Symphony for symphony orchestra", "Memories Symphony for symphony string orchestra", "Earth and Water symphony for symphony orchestra", "Spacetime symphony for string orchestra", "March and Choral for symphonic orchestra", "Divertimento in Ancient Style for string orchestra with piano", "Festive Overture - Toccata and Fuge for orchestra", "Variations for Piano and Orchestra".
He is especially known worldwide for his compositions for the harp, including "Music for Violin and Harp", "Sonatina for Harp", "Prayer for Harp", "Divertimento for Harp flute and Strings orchestra", "Music for Nicanor", "Commentaires Sentimentaux", "Ode To The Harp" and "Trio in One Movement no. 3".

Life and work

Sergiu Natra is a Romanian-born in a family originating in Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic. As a child he studied piano and music and began particular music studies in 1932, continued at the Jewish conservatory and graduated from the Music Academy of Bucharest. He studied, among others, theory, composition and orchestration with Leon Klepper and modern music with Michael Andricu.
He began composing at an early age and his work titled "March and Choral" for symphony orchestra, earned him the status of a modernist in Romania. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra performed this work in 1947 under the direction of Edward Lindenberg. NATRA had received many composition awards in for his creations, among which, for "March and Choral" for symphony orchestra and "Divertimento in ancient style" for symphony string orchestra, the George Enescu award for composition in 1945 and for "Suite for symphony orchestra" he received in 1951 the National prize for composition.
In 1961, Natra and his wife, Sonia, a sculptor and multidisciplinary artist, emigrated to Israel. A year later, conducted by Sergiu Comissiona, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra performed the "Horizons Symphony for symphony string orchestra", which was the last piece he had written in Romania, and the "Music for violin and harp", performed by the violinist Miriam Fried and the French harpist Françoise Netter.
Besides composing music, Natra taught music, including at Tel-Aviv University, where he taught music of the 20th century, composition, and analysis of forms. He was a professor at the Music Academy in the Tel-Aviv University until 1985. Among his students were Lior Shambadal, Rafi Kadishson, Erel Paz, Ruben Seroussi, Deborah Rothstein Schramm, Dror Elimelech, Yehonatan Berick, Sally Pinkas, Eugene Alcalay, Sivan Silver and Gil Garburg, Dr. Eran Lupu, Yoni Farhi.
Natra and his wife Sonia, have two sons, Danny and Gabi

Main works

Natra is a composer with a clear European orientation, who has a clear personal stamp and a particular writing style with melodic flow, atonal language, polyphonic idea, gradual development and shaping of motive material.
He makes use of a rich palette of sound-colors, unusual instrumental combinations, central registers of instruments, playing techniques which are natural and comfortable and succeed in producing optimal sound, texts in a new language, with its fresh rhythms and sonorities.
An extended list of works and their respective audio and video recordings is to be found at Natra's site
Most of the above related scores were published by IMI in Tel-Aviv and by Harposphere in Paris.
Part of the composers scores, the respective recordings, books and articles are found also in libraries, such as, Beit Ariela Public Library and Cultural Center, The National Library of Israel, The library of Congress and The Harold B. Lee Library.
The main source of the above list is the composer's documentation and archive. Additional references are found in:.