Emil Frey (8 April 188920 May 1946) was a Swiss composer, pianist and teacher.

Biography

He was born in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden ...

, near Zurich, Switzerland in 1889. He studied with Otto Barblan, Willy Rehberg and

Joseph Lauber Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

at the Geneva Conservatory 1902–05,Grove's Dictionary, 5th ed, 1954, Vol. III, p. 496 then at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

with Louis Diémer (piano) and

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

and

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the mid-Romantic era, most notable for his ten organ symphonies. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of the ...

(composition). In 1906 he won the Premier prix de piano. He became a court pianist in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

after 1907. In 1908 he and Xaver Scharwenka gave a private performance on two pianos of Scharwenka's Piano Concerto No. 4 in F minor to its dedicatee Queen Elisabeth of Romania. The next day it was performed publicly with orchestra; the composer conducted and Frey was the soloist.

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history, Enescu is featured on the Romanian five lei. Biogr ...

dedicated his Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 24/1 to Emil Frey. In 1910 Frey entered the composition section of the

Anton Rubinstein Competition The Anton Rubinstein Competition is the name of a music competition that has existed in two incarnations. It was first staged in Russia and Western Europe between 1890 and 1910, and prizes were awarded for piano playing and composition. Since 20 ...

in St Petersburg, and won with his Piano Trio. This led to an engagement as Professor of the Virtuoso Class at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

1912–17. Back in Switzerland after the Russian Revolution, he taught at the ''

Zürcher Hochschule der Künste Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK, german: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste) has approximately 2,500 students, which makes it the largest arts university in Switzerland. The university was established in 2007, following the merger between Zurich' ...

'' until his death, directing the piano finishing class there from 1922. His students included Victor Fenigstein,

Peter Mieg Peter Mieg (5 September 1906 – 7 December 1990) was a Swiss composer, painter and journalist. Biography Mieg was born in Lenzburg where he spent almost all his life. He studied art history, archaeology, music history as well as French and ...

and Adrian Aeschbacher. Rudolf Am Bach studied with him privately. He also concertised in Berlin, and toured throughout Europe and South America. He was considered among the leading Swiss pianists, his playing being noted for its extreme delicacy of feeling combined with brilliance of execution. He often played piano duos with his brother

Walter Frey Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born ...

. He died in Zurich on 20 May 1946, aged 57.

Compositions

Emile Frey was a prolific composer, whose opus numbers reached 102. He was influenced to some degree by

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

, whom he knew, by

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

and by

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

. His music includes: * 2 symphonies (the first has a choral finale) * ''Swiss Festival Overture'' * piano, violin and cello concertos * choral works to sacred texts * chamber music (Piano Quintet, String Quartet, Piano Trio, Violin Sonata, Cello Sonata) * piano music (sonatas, suites, sets of variations, and an instruction manual published in German and French) * organ music * other pieces He also transcribed some works of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

for piano.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frey, Emil 1889 births 1946 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century male musicians Anton Rubinstein Competition prize-winners Conservatoire de Paris alumni Male classical pianists Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory People from Baden, Switzerland Piano pedagogues Swiss classical composers Swiss classical pianists Swiss male classical composers Swiss music educators Academic staff of the Zurich University of the Arts 20th-century Swiss composers