Siglind Bruhn (born October 11, 1951, in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

) is a German musicologist, writer and concert pianist.

Biography and career

Siglind Bruhn was born in

. Her father was the engineer Ernst Bruhn, her mother the interpreter Leonore Bruhn née Kieberger. She made her first solo concerts and performances with orchestras as a soloist at the age of 14. During the last two years before her high school graduation (Abitur 1970), she was a student in the piano class of Professor Eckart Besch at the Musikhochschule Hamburg. She completed her studies in the master class of Vladimir Horbowski at the

Musikhochschule Stuttgart The State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart is a professional school for musicians and performing artists in Stuttgart, Germany. Founded in 1857, it is one of the oldest schools of its kind in Germany. It is one of the oldest and ...

; 1975 State Examen (equivalent to a Master of

Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

) in

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

performance and piano pedagogy. Concurrently she read Romance studies,

Comparative Literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

, and

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at Munich University; 1976 Magister Artium (M.A.) with a thesis on the drama of Ramón del Valle-Inclán. During this time she met her future husband, the philosopher Gerhold K. Becker. In 1976–78, Siglind Bruhn wrote her first book, which links the pedagogical heritage of her teacher Horbowski with first attempts at her own research. After another four years of teaching she enrolled in the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna for doctoral studies; 1985 Dr. phil. summa cum laude with an interdisciplinary dissertation in

musical analysis Musical analysis is the study of musical structure in either compositions or performances. According to music theorist Ian Bent, music analysis "is the means of answering directly the question 'How does it work?'". The method employed to ans ...

and

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

. Two years later she followed her husband, who had accepted a position in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, and taught for six years at The

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

. During her first sabbatical (1993–1994), which she spent at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, USA, she was invited to join the university's Institute for the Humanities, where she is currently a Life Research Associate for Music and Modern Literatures / Music in Interdisciplinary Dialogue. In 1993 her book concerning Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier was published. Since 2007 she has been the musical director of an annual series of chamber music concerts in the Southwest German town of Waldkirch.Kammerkonzerte am Bruckwald, organized by Siglind Bruhn
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Awards

* 2001 Elected Ordinary member of the

European Academy of Sciences and Arts The European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA, ) is a transnational and interdisciplinary network, connecting about 2,000 recommended scientists and artists worldwide, including 38 Nobel Prize laureates. The European Academy of Sciences and ...

* 2008 Honorary Doctorate (Dr. phil. h.c) from

Linnaeus University Linnaeus University (LNU) () is a state university in the Swedish historical province (''landskap'') Småland, with campuses located in Växjö and Kalmar. Linnaeus University was established in 2010 by a merger of former Växjö University a ...

, Sweden

Books (English only)

*''Guidelines to Piano Interpretation'', Penerbit Muzikal Malaysia, 1989, . *'' J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier: In-depth analysis and interpretation''. Mainer International, 1993. , , , . *''Images and Ideas in Modern French Piano Music: The Extra-Musical Subtext in Piano Works by Ravel,

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

and Messiaen''. Pendragon, 1997. ; paperback edition 2010 *''The Temptation of

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

: Mathis der Maler as a Spiritual Testimony''. Pendragon, 1998. - *''Musical Ekphrasis: Composers Responding to Poetry and Painting'', Pendragon, 2000. *''Musical Ekphrasis in Rilke's Marienleben'', Rodopi, 2000. *''Saints in the Limelight: Representations of the Religious Quest on the Post-1945 Operatic Stage'', Pendragon, 2003. *''The Musical Order of the World:

Kepler Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws of p ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Hindemith'', Pendragon, 2005. *'' Messiaen's Contemplations of Covenant and Incarnation: Musical Symbols of Faith in the two great piano cycles of the 1940s'', Pendragon, 2007. *'' Messiaen's Explorations of Love and Death: Musical Signification in the Tristan Trilogy and Three related song cycles'', Pendragon, 2008. *'' Messiaen's Interpretations of Holiness and Trinity: Echoes of Medieval Theology in the Oratorio, Organ Meditations, and Opera'', Pendragon, 2008. *'' Frank Martin's Musical Reflections on Death'', Pendragon 2011. *''The Music of Jörg Widmann'', Gorz 2013. *'' J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier: In-depth analysis and interpretation''. (Second, completely revised edition in one volume.) Gorz 2014. *''

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

's Journey from Tone Poems to Kaleidoscopic Sound Colors''. Pendragon, 2015. *''

's Vocal Music and its Poetic Evocations''. Pendragon, 2018. *''

's Instrumental Music in its Cultural Context''. Pendragon, 2019.

Essays and editorial work

Essay collections as contributing author: *'' Messiaen's Language of Mystical Love''. New York: Garland 1998. *''Encrypted Messages in

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

's Music ''. New York: Garland 1998. *''Signs in Musical Hermeneutics'' pecial issue of ''The American Journal of Semiotics 13/1-4'' 1998. ISSN 0277-7126 *''Voicing the Ineffable: Musical Representations of Religious Experience''. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press 2002. *''Sonic Transformations of Literary Texts: From Program Music to Musical Ekphrasis''. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press 2008. * Since 2000, series editor of the book series "Interplay: Music in Interdisciplinary Dialogue" published by Pendragon Press

Discography

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

: ''Histoires Naturelles'', Modest Mussorgsky: ''Songs and Dances of Death''. Cornelia Kallisch, mezzo-soprano; Siglind Bruhn, piano. LM-M E 2011 1984 *

: five sonatas for strings and piano. Andrew Jennings, violin, Yizhak Schotten, viola; Bruce Smith, viola d'amore, Anthony Elliott, violoncello; Derek Weller, double bass; piano: Siglind Bruhn, Katherine Collier Anton Nel Equilibrium 1995 *

: five sonatas for woodwinds and piano. Leone Buyse, flute, Harry Sargous, oboe; Fred Ormand, clarinet; Harry Sargous, English horn; Richard Beene, bassoon; piano: Siglind Bruhn, b Anton Nel Equilibrium 1995 *

: five sonatas for piano and brass instruments. Charles Darval, trumpet, Bryan Kennedy, French horn, Charles Darval, alto horn, H. Dennis Smith, trombone, Fritz Kaenzig, tuba; piano: Siglind Bruhn, Robert Conway Anton Nel Equilibrium 1996 *

: ''

Ludus tonalis ''Ludus Tonalis'' ("Play of Tones", "Tonal Game", or "Tonal Primary School" after the Latin ''Ludus Litterarius''), subtitled ''Kontrapunktische, tonale, und Klaviertechnische Übungen'' (''Counterpoint, tonal and technical studies for the piano ...

'' and ''Reihe kleiner Stücke''. Siglind Bruhn, piano. Equilibrium 1996

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruhn, Siglind Living people 1951 births University of Vienna alumni Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts University of Michigan faculty German musicologists German women musicologists State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart alumni 21st-century German classical pianists German women classical pianists Messiaen scholars 21st-century German women pianists