Bernhard Heinrich Romberg (November 13, 1767 – August 13, 1841), was a German cellist and composer.
Romberg was born in Dinklage. His father, Anton Romberg, played the bassoon and cello and gave Bernhard his first cello lessons. He first performed in public at the age of seven. In addition to touring Europe with his cousin Andreas Romberg, Bernhard Romberg also joined the Münster Court Orchestra.
Together with his cousin, he later joined the court orchestra of the Prince Elector Archbishop of Cologne in Bonn (conducted by the Kapellmeister Andrea Luchesi) in 1790, where they met the young Beethoven. Beethoven admired and respected Bernhard Romberg as a musician. However, Romberg had difficulty understanding some of Beethoven's musical ideas, and rejected Beethoven's offer of a cello concerto for him, saying that he primarily performed his own compositions.
Romberg made several innovations in cello design and performance. He lengthened the cello's fingerboard and flattened the side under the C string, thus giving it more freedom to vibrate. He also invented what is known as the Romberg bevel, a flat section beneath the E string of the double bass that allowed the larger string to vibrate more freely. He suggested that half-size and 3/4 size cellos should be designed to make it easier for young children to play the instrument. Romberg is responsible for simplifying cello notation to only three clefs, the bass clef, the tenor clef and the treble clef. Until his time, it was common to use many clefs for multiple uses - the 18th century cellist-composer Luigi Boccherini used as many as six clefs in his compositions. Romberg is thought to be among the first cellists to perform from memory, which was a skill praised highly in his day. He died at Hamburg.
It has been suggested that Romberg's cello sonata in E minor was a strong influence on the first cello sonata in E minor by Johannes Brahms.
Opus 1, string quartets 1-3String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat MajorString Quartet No. 2 in B-flat MajorString Quartet No. 3 in D MajorOpus 2, Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Major, for cello and orchestraOpus 3, Grand Concerto No. 2 in D Major, for cello with orchestraOpus 4, Potpourris in G Major for cello and string quartet (Also transcribed as Three Duos for violin and cello)Opus 5, Three Sonatas for cello (or violin) and harp (or piano)Opus 6, Concerto No. 3 in G Major, for cello and orchestra (also reduced as Three Grand Sonatas, for piano with accompaniment of violin)Opus 7, Cello Concerto No.4 in E minorOpus 8, Grand Trio in F Major for string trioOpus 9, 3 duos for 2 cellos (also transcribed for violin and cello)No.1, Duet in D MajorNo.2, Duet in F majorNo.3, Duet in E minorOpus 11, Overture for orchestraOpus 12, Quartet No.4 (2 violins, viola, cello)Opus 13, Variations in A Minor for cello and orchestraOpus 14, Airs Russes for cello and orchestraOpus 17, Flute concerto in B minor (Also published as opus 30)Opus 18, Variations et Rondo in E-flat Major for harp (or piano), violin, viola and celloOpus 20, Variations sur deux airs russes in D Minor for cello and stringsOpus 21, Rondoletto per violoncello principale con strings in A MajorOpus 22, Piano QuartetOpus 23, Trauer-Symphonie in C MinorOpus 25, String Quartets 5-7String Quartet No.5 in G MinorString Quartet No.6 in C MinorString Quartet No.7 in G MajorOpus 26, Overture to Opera: Ulysse et CirceOpus 28, Capriccio sur des aire nationaux suédois for cello and piano (also Symphony in E-flat Major)Opus 30, Concerto No. 5 in F-sharp Minor for cello and orchestraOpus 31, Concerto No. 6 in F Major (Militaire) for cello and orchestraOpus 33, 2 duos for 2 cellosOpus 34, Concert OvertureOpus 35, Elegie sur la mort d'un objet chéri for cello and string orchestraOpus 36, Duos for 2 cellosOpus 37, String Quartet No 8 in A MajorOpus 38, Three Sonatas for Cello and Piano (also Three Trios for viola and two cellos)No.1, Cello Sonata in E minorNo.2, Cello Sonata in G MajorNo.3, Cello Sonata in B-flat MajorOpus 39, String Quartet No 9 in D MinorOpus 41, Concertino in E minor for cello and orchestraOpus 42, Divertimento on Swedish National ThemesOpus 43, 3 Sonatas (Also played as trios for viola, cello and bass). (and as duos for 2 cellos).No.1, Cello Sonata in Bb MajorNo.2, Cello Sonata in C MajorNo.3, Cello Sonata in G MajorOpus 44, Concerto No. 7 in C Major (Suisse) for cello and orchestraOpus 46, Divertimento from Austrian Folksongs for cello and guitarOpus 48, Concerto No. 8 in A Major (Brillant) for cello and orchestraOpus 49, Souvenir de Vienne, grosses rondo brillant, for cello and piano (originally with orchestra)Opus 50, Theme and Variations for cello and pianoOpus 51, Concertino, for cello and piano or orchestra in D minorOpus 52, – Airs Russes for cello and pianoOpus 53, Symphony in C major (published 1830 by Haslinger)Opus 55, Fantaisie sur des airs norvégiens in D Minor for cello and pianoOpus 56 , Concerto No. 9 in B Minor (Grand) for cello and orchestraOpus 57, Concertino for cello and orchestraOpus 58, Fantaisie sur des airs norvégiens pour violoncelle et pianoOpus 59, String Quartet No. 10 in A MinorOpus 60, String Quartet No. 11 in E MajorOpus 61, Theme with Variations and Rondo for cello and pianoOpus 62, Symphonie burlesque (toy symphony)Opus 65, Divertimento on Westphalian National Themes for cello and string quartetOpus 70, Grande fantaisie for cello accompanied by string quartet or pianoOpus 71, Divertissement for piano trioOpus 72, Concertino in A for two cellos and orchestraOpus 75, Op. 75 – Concerto No. 10 in E Major (Brillant), for cello and orchestraOpus 76, Introduction and Polonaise for cello and pianoWorks by Bernhard and Andreas Romberg
Opus 1, Three Quintets for flute, violin, two violas and celloQuintet 1 in D MajorQuintet 2 in C MajorQuintet 3 in G Major (written only by Bernhard Romberg)Opus 2, 3 Concertante Duos for violin and celloOeuvres Posthumes, 6 Morceaux Élégants for cello and pianoNo.1, La réponse, FantaisieNo.2, DivertissementNo.3, NotturnoNo.4, SérénadeNo.5, BagatellaNo.6, Introduzione e Rondo giocosoLe Rêve, pièce de fantaisie for cello and string quartet (or piano)Two CanonsRecitative and Aria in B-flat Major for cello and orchestraPièce pour les amateurs sur des airs suedois for cello and string quartetCantabile et thème varié suivis d'un allegretto for cello and pianoVariations in A Minor for cello and orchestraVariations in E Major for cello and pianoTrois themes de W. A. Mozart, variés pour violon et violoncelleDouble Concerto, for violin, cello, and orchestraDivertimento sur des airs autrichiens, for cello and pianoVioloncello studies, three booksA Complete Theoretical and Practical School for the Violoncello
