Josef Tal

Josef Tal
Josef Tal in 2002
Nationality	Israeli
Occupation	Classical Composer

Josef Tal, born Joseph Grünthal (September 18 1910 – August 25 2008) was an Israeli composer.

Biography

Josef Tal with his father Julius Grünthal (1917).

Josef Tal is considered among of the founding fathers of Israeli music. He was born in the town of Pinne (Pniewy, near Poznań), German Empire (present-day Poland). Soon after his birth his family (parents Ottilie and Rabbi Julius Grünthal, and his elder sister Grete), moved to Berlin, where the family managed a private orphanage. Rabbi Julius Grünthal was a docent in the Higher Institute for Jewish Studies (Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums), specializing in the philology of ancient languages. [1]

Studies

Tal was admitted to the Staatliche Akademische Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and studied with Max Trapp (piano and composition), Heinz Tiessen (theory), Max Saal (harp), Curt Sachs (instrumentation), Fritz Flemming (oboe), Georg Schünemann (history of music) Charlotte Pfeffer and Siegfried Borris (ear training), Siegfried Ochs (choir singing), Leonid Kreutzer (piano methodology) and Julius Prüwer (conducting). Paul Hindemith - his composition and theory teacher – introduced him to Friedrich Trautwein who directed the electronic music studio in the building cellar. Tal completed his studies in the academy in 1931, and married dancer Rosie Löwenthal one year later. He worked giving piano lessons and accompanying dancers, singers, and silent movies.

Photograph made by Josef Tal.

Nazi anti-Jewish labour laws rendered Tal jobless and he turned to studying photography with Schule Reimann with the intention of acquiring a profession that would make him eligible for an "immigration certificate" to Palestine.

Palestine

In 1934, the family emigrated to Palestine with their young son Re'uven. Tal worked as a photographer in Haifa and Hadera for a short time. The family moved then to Kibbutz Beit Alpha and later to Kibbutz Gesher, where Tal intended to dedicate his time to his music.

Finding it hard to adjust to the new social reality in the Kibbutz, the family settled in Jerusalem where Tal established professional and social connections. He performed as a pianist, gave piano lessons and occasionally played harp with the newly-founded Palestine Orchestra. In 1937, the couple divorced.

Jerusalem

Tal accepted Emil Hauser's invitation to teach piano, theory, and composition at the Palestine Conservatory, and in 1948 he was appointed director of the Jerusalem Academy of Music, a post he held until 1952. In 1940 Tal married the sculptress Pola Pfeffer.

Tal with Palestine Conservatoire of Music Orchestra (1939).

In 1951 Tal was appointed lecturer at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem where in 1961 he established the Centre for Electronic Music in Israel. He published academic articles, and wrote many music entries in the Encyclopaedia Hebraica. In 1965 he was appointed senior professor and later chairman of the Musicology Department at the Hebrew University, a post he held until 1971. Among his many pupils are the composers Ben-Zion Orgad, Robert Starer , Naomi Shemer, Jacob Gilboa, Yehuda Sharett, musicologist Michal Smoira-Cohn, cellist Uzi Wiesel and soprano Hilde Zadek.

Tal was a prolific writer and avid lecturer. He represented Israel at the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) conferences and in other musical events and attended many professional conferences around the world. He was a member of the Berlin Academy of the Arts (Akademie der Künste), and a fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin (Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin).

Until his sixties Tal appeared as a pianist and conductor with various orchestras, but his major contribution to the music world lies in his challenging compositions and his novel use of sonority in vocal, instrumental and electronic music. In the 1990s Tal conducted a research project (Talmark) aimed at the development of a novel musical notation system in cooperation with the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and VolkswagenStiftung. During these years his eyesight deteriorated and it became increasingly difficult for him to continue composing. Using a computer screen to enlarge the music score, he managed to compose short musical works for few instruments, write his third autobiography, and complete his visionary analysis of future music. The complete cycle of his symphonies conducted by Israel Yinon was released on the German label CPO.

Tal checks a manuscript (2006).

Josef Tal is buried in Kibbutz Ma'ale HaHamisha, near Jerusalem. His archival legacy is kept in the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem. Almost all of Tal's works are published by the Israel Music Institute (IMI).

Style

Tal's style is faithful to his European background. He was not affected by the prevailing trends of Israeli music in the 40s and 50s, which were largely based on the folklore of Jewish ethnic groups in Israel, or on the Mideastern musical traditions. At first glance, Tal's work seems to have a monolithic atonal character, but despite this dominant feature, one can observe significant developments and changes in his composition style through the years.

"… Neither tonality nor modality, neither atonality nor dodecaphony, neither serialism nor electronics make the music Israeli. These are mere tools, which may also contain the folkloristic citation, the Mediterranean fifths, A-la-Hora dance rhythm, etc. These are all legitimate means providing they serve a vivid will and content. Musical dialect is subject to change as every living language is."

— Josef Tal

Tal's work is strongly influenced by the Bible and events in Jewish history. Many of his works from the 50s incorporate traditional musical motifs and techniques, though even when he cites a motif, he typically modifies it in a way that obscures its original tonal nature. When he borrows a traditional melody of the Jewish-Babylonian community as a basis for his First Symphony, he does so only to excite his creative imagination, evading any demonstration of national connotation. Tal interlaces the cited materials without compromising his stylistic principles, which were heavily influenced by Arnold Schönberg.

"…Undoubtedly one can find a wealth of musical motifs in Israeli folklore, but it is the courageous composer that absorbs it for an extra-national goal, to create a universal artwork. A work related to temporal phenomena and values is bound to dilettantism. It will lack the origin of every artwork, which, similarly to nature, is super-natural and eternal."

— Josef Tal

Many regarded Tal L'enfant Terrible of Israeli music. Following Concerto No.4 for Piano & Electronics premiere (27/8/1962), Herzl Rosenblum the daily Yediot Ahronot's editor and critic, used the terms "Terror!", "Cacophony" and "Minority dictatorship"...

Bold in his novel ideas and a headstrong non-conformist, Tal did not follow musical fashions, nor bent his principles towards extra-musical dictates.

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"…There is no linear creative process. By its very nature it moves adventurously in many directions. There is the big danger that this may mislead one to superficiality. But just the same it is the great privilege of the creative man that all the roads are open before him. It is up to him, whether he loses his way in that universe or whether he explores it."

— From: Self portrait of the composer Josef Tal - notes for a radio transmission (date unknown)

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Composer–listener relationship

Tal did not underestimate the importance of relationship between composer and listener, and was aware of the difficulties posed by "modern music":

"…Theoretically, if you had played to people of the third century the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven, possibly they would have listened only to some white noise – because they were not educated to understand or analyse such a lot of different acoustical appearances…"

— Josef Tal

"Tal’s attitude towards his music and his audience was inspired by the uncompromising approach[es] of Beethoven and Arnold Schönberg, two composers whom Tal particularly admired. He places high demands upon his listeners: his works are intense, dissonant and densely eventful, and cannot be fully comprehended in one hearing…”

— Jehoash Hirshberg

"…I hesitate to provide the listener with a verbal analysis that explains a musical theoretical system using professional terminologies. This domain belongs to the composer's workshop and should not bother the listener. The listener brings his own musical experience to the concert, which was gained through lengthy exposure to classical and romantic music. This experience results in habits that help him navigate in classical music. The 20th century music listener is subject to a different system. Musical language changes constantly thus altering its aesthetic perception. Musical elements such as melody, harmony and rhythm are now manifested differently from the traditional music. Despite these changes, a phenomenon common to all musical eras shows itself constantly: the suggestive power that flows from the musical piece to the listener…"

— Tal's foreword to 4th Symphony premiere (1987)

Electronic music

A caricature by Meir Ronnen following the premiere of Tal's Concerto No. 4 for Piano & Electronics.

Tal regards electronic music as a new music language, which he describes as unstable and lacking a crystallized definition. He views the computer as an instrument which compels the composer to disciplined thinking. In return, it stores the data it was fed with absolute faithfulness. Nevertheless, when the computer is ill-used, the composer's incompetence will be revealed, as he is unable to unite computer with the realm of music. But according to Tal, composing electronic music has another aspect too: when the composer chooses the computer's music-notation as his tool for creating, he concomitantly annuls the performer's role as an interpreter. From that point on, it is only the composer's mental capacity that counts, and the performance is independent of the interpreter's virtuosity.

Tal integrates electronic music in many of his works for "conventional" instruments, and was actually one of the world's pioneers in doing so. His pieces for electronic music and harp, piano or harpsichord, and operas like Massada or Ashmedai are typical examples.

"[...Despite] Tal’s considerable interest in electronic music, and the time and creativity he devoted to it, he composed very few electronic works, and these were not played very often – partly because the composer himself did not particularly encourage their public presentation… Apparently, Tal could not quite adapt himself to the situation [] of sitting in a hall facing a set of two or four loudspeakers, and listening to the sounds emanating from them with no human performer in sight… Tal’s compositional involvement with electronic music therefore largely consisted of combining live performance with electronic sound"

— Jehoash Hirshberg

Compositions

First lines of Piano Concerto No. 2 (1953).

OPERAS

Year Composed WORK DETAILS PARTICIPANTS PREMIERE PERFORMERS LOCATION 1958 Amnon and Tamar libretto: Recha Freier, after Samuel II, 13 soloists, men's choir and orchestra 1960 Heinz Freudenthal Jerusalem 1968 Ashmedai libretto: Israel Eliraz soloists, choir, orchestra & electronic music 1971 Gary Bertini / Leopold Lindtberg Hamburg 1972 Massada 967 libretto: Israel Eliraz soloists, choir, & electronic music 1973 Gary Bertini / Leonard Schach Jerusalem 1975 Die Versuchung libretto: Israel Eliraz soloists, choir, orchestra & electronic music 1976 Gary Bertini / Götz Friedrich München 1983 Der Turm libretto: Hans Keller soloists, choir, orchestra & electronic music 1987 Adam Fischer / Siegfried Schoenbohm Berlin 1993 Joseph libretto: Israel Eliraz soloists, choir, orchestra 1995 David Alden / Gary Bertini Tel Aviv

KEYBOARD

Year Composed WORK DETAILS PREMIERE PERFORMERS LOCATION 1931 Pieces for piano 4-hands (not yet performed) 1936 Chaconne for piano (not yet performed) 1937 Three Pieces for piano 1939 Grünthal Jerusalem 1945 Cum Mortuis In Lingua Mortua 7 Variations for piano on a theme by Moussorgsky 1945 Grünthal Jerusalem 1946 Six Sonnets for piano 1949 Grünthal Tel Aviv 1949 Sonata for piano 1950 Grünthal Tel Aviv 1951 A Little Walk for piano 4-hands (not yet performed) 1956 Five Inventions for Piano 1961 Lengyel (?) 1962 Dodecaphonic Episodes for piano 1963 Tal Tel Aviv 1964 Concerto No. 5 for piano & electronic music 1964 Gerty Blacher-Herzog Berlin 1964 / 1977 Concerto for harpsichord & electronic music 1964 Frank Pelleg Tel Aviv 1970 Concerto No. 6 for piano & electronic music 1970 Tal Jerusalem 1975 Five Densities for piano ? ? ? 1983 Salva venia for organ ? Oscar Gottlieb Blarr (?) ? 1986 - 2000 Five Essays I-V for piano ? ? ? 1988 A Tale in Four Parts for piano 4-hands ? ? ?

ORCHESTRAL / ENSEMBLE / INSTRUMENTAL SOLO

Year Composed WORK DETAILS PREMIERE PERFORMERS LOCATION 1937 Suite for violoncello ? Hofmekler? ? 1937 Sonata for violoncello ? Hofmekler? ? 1939 Prelude for chamber orchestra, flute & fagott 1939 Grünthal Jerusalem 1940 Suite for viola ? Ödön Pártos? ? 1940 Thema und Variationen über Expressionen der Zeit for 2 pianos & percussion 1940 Grünthal/Kaplan/Liebenthal Jerusalem 1945 Concerto No. 1 for piano & orchestra 1946 Grünthal/Georg Singer Tel Aviv 1947 Lament for violoncello & harp ? Josef Weissgerber / Klari Szarvas ? 1949 Hora for violoncello & harp ? Josef Weissgerber / Klari Szarvas ? 1950 Reflections for string orchestra 1950 Michael Taube Tel Aviv 1952 Sonata for oboe & piano (not yet performed) 1952 Sonata for violin & piano 1952 Lola Granetman-Tavor / Wolfgang Schneiderhan Salzburg 1952 Symphony No. 1 1955 Artur Gelbrun Belgium 1953 Concerto No. 2 for piano & orchestra 1953 Tal / Singer Jerusalem 1953 Duo for 2 flutes 1954 Jean Delaunay & Robert Magne Paris 1954 Concerto for viola & orchestra 1954 Gideon Röhr / Heinz Freudenthal Haifa 1958 Festive Vision for symphony orchestra 1958 Izler Solomon Jerusalem 1959 String Quartet No. 1 1959 Alexander Tal / Yuval / Binyamini / Mense Tel Aviv 1959 Intrada for harp ? ? ? 1960 Symphony No. 2 1961 Shalom Ronli-Riklis Jerusalem 1960 Sonata for viola & piano 1960 Ödön Pártos / Tal Warsaw 1960 Concerto for violoncello & string orchestra 1961 Uzi Wiesel / Shalom Ronli-Riklis Jerusalem 1962 Structure for harp 1962 Klari Szarvas ? 1963 String Quartet No. 2 1965 New Israeli Quartet Tel Aviv 1963 Duo for viola & piano 1965? ? Hamburg 1966 Woodwind Quintet ? ? ? 1968 Fanfare for 3 trumpets & 3 trombones ? ? ? 1969 Double Concerto for violin, violoncello & chamber orchestra ? ? ? 1971/1980 Concerto for harp & electronic music 1972 Nicanor Zabaleta Buenos Aires 1973 Treatise for violoncello ? Uzi Wiesel ? 1973 Trio for violin, violoncello & piano ? ? ? 1975 Shape for chamber ensemble 1976 Ralph Shapey Chicago 1976 Concerto for flute & chamber orchestra 1977 Aurel Nicolet / Mendi Rodan Jerusalem 1976/1987 String Quartet No. 3 (+ a shortened version) ? ? ? 1978 Symphony No. 3 1979? Zubin Mehta? ? 1979 Double Concerto for 2 pianos & orchestra 1981 Gary Bertini / Eden / Tamir Jerusalem 1980 Concerto for clarinet & orchestra ? ? ? 1980 Movement for tuba & piano 1982 Margulies / Garten USA 1981 / 1986 Dance of the Events for orchestra 1982 Gary Bertini Jerusalem 1982 Piano Quartet for violin, viola, violoncello & piano 1983 Cantilena Quartet Washington 1982 Imago for chamber orchestra 1983 Arthur Weisberg Washington 1982 Chamber Music for s-recorder, marimba & harpsichord 1987 Manuela Christen / Hans-Peter Achberger / Urte Lucht Hamburg 1985 Symphony No. 4 1987 Mehta Tel Aviv 1985 In Memoriam of a Dear Friend for violoncello 1986 Kaganovski Jerusalem 1986 Symphonic Fanfare ? ? ? 1989 Duo for trombone & harp ? ? ? 1989 Dispute for harp ? ? ? 1991 Symphony No. 5 1992 Daniel Barenboim Berlin 1991 Symphony No. 6 1992 Wolf-Dieter Hauschild Eschede (Germany) 1992 Duo for oboe & English horn ? ? ? 1994 Quartet for t-saxophone, violin, viola & violoncello ? ? ? 1996 Perspective for viola 1996 Tabea Zimmermann Berlin 2005 Good Night for 2 recorders ? ? ?

UNACCOMPANIED SOLO
Year Composed WORK DETAILS PREMIERE PERFORMER LOCATION 1978/1982 Scene monodrama for soprano or tenor (to be acted). text from Franz Kafka's diaries 1984? Catherine Gayer Berlin 1997 Schlichtheit for baritone. text: Jorge Luis Borges 1997 Matteo de Monti Vienna 2000 Sonett an Orfeus for baritone. text: Rainer Maria Rilke (Sonett XXIX) 2000 Matteo de Monti ?

SOLO VOICE WITH ONE INSTRUMENT OR ENSEMBLE

Year Composed WORK DETAILS PREMIERE PERFORMERS LOCATION 1936 Drei Lieder der Ruhe (Three Songs of Serenity) for soprano & piano. Texts: Paul Verlaine, Georg Heym, Christian Morgenstern 1938 Hede Türk / Grünthal Jerusalem 1936/1950 Three Songs for soprano & piano. Texts: Rachel Bluwstein 1955 Hilde Zadek / Grünthal Tel Aviv? 1950 Festive Prologue for narrator & 2 pianos. Text: Rachel Bluwstein ? ? ? 1971 Song for baritone or alto & ensemble. Texts: Heinrich Heine 1972 Heljä Angervo Berlin 1975 My Child for soprano & clarinet. Texts: Natan Yonatan ? ? ? 1975 Else – Hommage chamber scene for mezzo-soprano, narrator & ensemble. Text: Israel Eliraz ? ? ? 1987 Die Hand dramatic Scene for soprano & violoncello. Text: Israel Eliraz ? ? ? 1991 Wars Swept Through Here for baritone & ensemble. Text: Israel Eliraz ? ? ? 1991 Bitter Line for baritone & ensemble. Text: Israel Eliraz 1991 ? Berlin 1993 Mein blaues Klavier for mezzo-soprano & piano. Text: Else Lasker-Schüler 1994 Ursula Hesse/Axel Bauni Berlin

SOLO / VOICE(S) WITH ORCHESTRA
Year Composed WORK DETAILS PREMIERE PERFORMERS LOCATION 1946 Exodus symphonic poem for baritone & orchestra. Text: Exodus, Psalms 1947 Bernardino Molinari Tel Aviv 1955 Saul at Ein Dor opera concertante for soloists & orchestra. Text: Books of Samuel I, 28: 3-25 1955 Michael Taube Tel Aviv 1956 Concerto No. 3 for tenor, piano & orchestra. Text: Eleazar Kalir 1956 Michael Taube Jerusalem

CHORAL MUSIC A CAPPELLA / WITH ORCHESTRA

Year Composed WORK DETAILS PREMIERE PERFORMERS LOCATION 1936 On the Way for 4 women voices. Texts: Rachel Bluwstein (not yet performed) 1952 3 Songs on Yemenite Themes for choir. Texts: Song of Songs, Shalom Shabazi ? ? ? 1954 Aleinu Leshabe'ach for 3 voices women choir, tenor & piano (organ). Text: Siddur, Shalom Shabazi 1949 Max Helfman New York 1955 Succot Cantata for soloists, mixed choir & orchestra. Text: Shacharit, Eleazar Kalir ? ? ? 1967 The Death of Moses requiem for soloists, mixed choir, orchestra & electronic music. Text: Yehuda Ya'ari 1967 Bertini Jerusalem 1968 Parade of the Fallen" (Misdar Ha'Noflim) cantata for soloists, choir & orchestra. Text: Haim Hefer 1969 Mendi Rodan Jerusalem 1975 Death Came to the Wooden Horse Michael for soloists, mixed choir & electronic music. Text: Nathan Zach 1979 Avner Itai Jerusalem 1978 With All Thy Soul cantata for soloists, equal voices boys' choir, mixed choir & ensemble. Text: 1 Maccabees (Apocrypha), Sefer Ha'Agada 1978 Bertini Jerusalem 1985 Dream of the Circles for baritone, choir & ensemble. Text: Nachman of Breslov 1985 Avner Itai Tel Aviv 1987 Touch a Place for solo voice & choir. Text: Israel Eliraz 1987 Arnon Meroz Jerusalem 1993? God Full of Mercy for mixed choir. Text: Yehuda Amichai (not yet performed)

ELECTRONIC MUSIC (unaccompanied)
Tal at the Electronic Music Studio (~1965) Year Composed WORK DETAILS PREMIERE 1958 Exodus (II) for choreography 1958 1964 Out of My Distress I Called on the Lord for choreography ? 1970 Variations for choreography ? 1970 Ashmedai Electronic overture to the opera 1971 1972 Frequencies 440-462 ? 1990 Ranges of Energy Talmark Notation ?

Literature

Music theory

• Grünthal, Josef. Basics of Music Theory (in Hebrew). Published by Benno Balan, 1944.
• Introduction to the Theory of Musical Form (in Hebrew). Published by Merkaz Letarbut Vehasbara, 1951.
• Musica Nova in the Third Millennium - Behind the Scenes of Music Theory. Published by the Israel Music Institute, 2002, Cat No. 1018E, ISBN 965-90565-0-8.

Autobiographies

• Der Sohn des Rabbiners. Ein Weg von Berlin nach Jerusalem (The Son of the Rabbis: A Way from Berlin to Jerusalem). An autobiography, 1985, ISBN 3-88679-123-8.
• Reminiscences, Reflections, Summaries Retold in Hebrew by Ada Brodsky, Pulished by Carmel (1997), ISBN 965-407-162-2.
• Tonspur - Auf der Suche nach dem Klang des Lebens (On Search for the Sound of Life), an autobiography, Henschel publishing house Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-89487-503-8.

Essays

• The Impact of the Era on the Interrelation Between Composer, Performer and Listener. Music in Time – A Publication of the Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music and Dance (1983-1984), pp 23–27.
• Rationale und Sensitive Komponenten des "Verstehens"', in Musik und Verstehen – Aufsätze zur semiotischen Theorie, Ästhetik und Soziologie der musikalischen Rezeption, Arno Volk Verlag (197?), 306–313.
• Musik auf Wanderung – Querschnitte zwischen Gestern und Morgen in Berliner Lektionen, (1992) Bertelsmann, 79–90.
• Wagner und die Folgen in der Musik des 20. Jahrhunderts, (1983) Universität Bayreuth, Sonderdruck aus Jahresbericht des Präsidenten, 167–181.
• Der Weg einer Oper, Wissenschftskolleg Jahrbuch 1982/83, Siedler Verlag, 355–356.
• Gedanken zur Oper Ashmedai, in Ariel – Berichte zur Kunst und Bildung in Israel, No. 15 (1972), 89–91.
• Music, Hieroglyphics and Technical Lingo in The World of Music, Vol. XIII, No.1/1971 B. Schott's Söhne, Mainz, 18–28.
• Ein Mensch-zu-Mensch-Erlebnis im Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin (1994) in Axel von dem Bussche, Hase&Koehler Verlag, 125–131. ISBN 3-7758-1311-X.

Awards and prizes

• 1949, 1958, 1977 - The City of Tel Aviv Engel Prize
• 1957/1958 - UNESCO grant for the study of electronic music
• 1969 - Member of the (German) Akademie der Künste[2] (Academy of the Arts, Berlin)
• 1970 - The State of Israel Prize
• 1975 - Berliner Kunstpreis [3] (Art Prize of the City of Berlin)
• 1981 – Foreign Honorary Membership of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters "in recognition of creative achievement in the arts"
• 1982/1983 - Fellow, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin[4] (Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin)
• 1982 - Wolf Prize (Israel)[5] "for his novel approach to musical structure and texture and the unfailing dramatic tension of his creations"
• 1985 - (German) Bundesverdienstkreuz I Klasse[6]
• 1985 - (French) Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
• 1993 – Doctor Philosophiae Honoris Causa of Tel Aviv University "In special recognition of his unique operatic works which are evidence of his deep connection with the spirit of Judaism during various periods of history, and his achieving a synthesis between ancient Jewish tradition, and modern-day music"
• 1995 – Johann-Wenzel-Stamitz-Förderungspreis der Künstlergilde (Germany)
• 1995 – ACUM prize (Societe D'auteurs, Compositeurs et Editeurs de Musique en Israel)
• 1995 - Yakir Yerushalayim award (given by the City of Jerusalem)
• 1996 - Doctor Philosophiae Honoris Causa of Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg[7]
• 1998 – Doctor Philosophiae Honoris Causa of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem "In tribute to his rich musical legacy and in recognition of his contribution to the development of music education in Israel"

References and external links

• Tal's biography on the IMI web site
• Score catalogue of the Israel Music Institute
• A Conversation with Joseph Tal on the Electronic Music Foundation web site
• Josef Tal - Reflections, by Avrohom Leichtling, 2005
• The American Symphony Orchestra will perform the US Premiere of Tal's Symphony No. 2 (1960) in 2009 May 2009
• Discography
• Josef Tal – In Memoriam on The International Association of Music Information Centres web site
• Jeffrey Burns: With Josef Tal on Kurfürstendamm
• Hirshberg, Jehoash. (1992) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, edited by Stanley Sadie. ISBN 0-333-73432-7 and ISBN 1-56159-228-5
• Ron, Yohanan. (2000) The Music of Josef Tal - Selected Writings, The Israeli Music Archive, Tel Aviv University, Department of Musicology
• Markel, Shlomo. (1993) On Notation for Electro Acoustic Music and Interactive Environment for Composition, Research Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Science, Technion, Haifa
• Hirshberg, Jehoash. Joseph Tal's Homage to Else, in Ariel – A Quarterly Review of Arts and Letters in Israel, No. 41 (1976), pp 83–93