Boris Blacher (born 19 January 1903, Newchwang, China; died 30 January 1975, Berlin) was a German composer. His style took something from Stravinsky’s instrumental pungency and the anti-Romantic clarity of Milhaud; Berg and Bartók were other early influences. He also experimented with rhythm, devising what he called ‘variable metres’, inspired by Schoenberg’s note-rows, expanding and contracting to bring metrical variety to the works where he used them, such as the Second Piano Concerto of 1952 and the Orchester-Ornament, written a year later.

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