Lang-Beck, Ivana (1912–1983)
Lang-Beck, Ivana (1912–1983)
Yugoslav pianist whose compositions were performed on Yugoslav radio and television as well as throughout Europe and the Soviet Union. Born in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, on November 15, 1912; died in 1983.
Ivana Lang-Beck's composing career unfolded in the former Yugoslavia. She studied at the Music Academy of Zagreb and later became a professor there. From 1940 to 1943, Lang-Beck taught at the teachers' academy in Zagreb and then secured a position teaching piano at the Vatroslav Lisinski Music Academy. Some of her compositions were performed in Salzburg at the Mozarteum, where she also attended lectures by Joseph Marx. As her reputation grew, Lang-Beck's compositions were also performed in Hamburg, Strasbourg, Trieste, and what was then the Soviet Union. She wrote over 50 compositions, many for the piano, and composed a full-length opera and several ballet scores. Lang-Beck's work was also performed on Yugoslav radio and television. Much of the inspiration for her composition came from an intensive study of folk music of Istria, a peninsula in the Adriatic Sea.
John Haag , Athens, Georgia