Ernest Bour (20 April 1913 - 20 June 2001) was a noted conductor. Born in
Thionville
Thionville (; ; ) is a city in the northeastern French Departments of France, department of Moselle (department), Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle (river), Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz.
History
Thionvi ...
,
Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...
(in north-eastern Lorraine, then part of Germany), Bour studied at both the University and the
Conservatoire of Strasbourg. His conducting teachers included
Fritz Münch Fritz Münch (born in Strasbourg, then in the German Empire, 2 June 1890, died in Niederbronn-les-Bains 10 March 1970)Alain Pâris. ''Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l’interprétation musicale au XX siècle.'' Éditions Robert Laffont, Paris, ...
and
Hermann Scherchen
Hermann Scherchen (21 June 1891 – 12 June 1966) was a German conductor, who was principal conductor of the city orchestra of Winterthur from 1922 to 1950. He promoted contemporary music, beginning with Schoenberg's '' Pierrot Lunaire'', follow ...
.
Perhaps his most heard recording is of
Ligeti's ''Atmospheres'' with the
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra on the soundtrack to
2001: A Space Odyssey.
After serving as chorus master for the radio choruses of
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
and
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
, he was appointed conductor of the Orchestre de
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...
in 1941. In 1950, he became conductor of the
Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra and in 1955 of the
Strasbourg Opera House, where he had conducted the premiere of Delannoy's ''
Puck'' in 1949. He was principal conductor of the
SWF Symphony Orchestra in
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
from 1964 to 1979. He conducted the European premiere of
Berio's Sinfonia
Sinfonia (; plural ''sinfonie'') is the Italian word for symphony, from the Latin ''symphonia'', in turn derived from Ancient Greek συμφωνία ''symphōnia'' (agreement or concord of sound), from the prefix σύν (together) and Φωνή (s ...
during the 1969
Donaueschingen Festival by the
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra. From 1976 until 1987, he was permanent guest conductor of The Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra located in the VARA radio headquarters in
Hilversum
Hilversum () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is ...
.
Bour's repertoire was marked by a concentration on contemporary music. World premières he presided over included works by
Bussotti,
Ferneyhough,
Górecki,
Ligeti,
Rihm,
Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...
and
Xenakis, and he gave the French premières of
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 ad ...
's Symphony ''Mathis der Maler'' and
Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...
's ''The Rake's Progress'' and the European premiere of
Susman's ''Trailing Vortices''. His recordings ranged from music of
François Couperin
François Couperin (; 10 November 1668 – 11 September 1733) was a French Baroque music, Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as ''Couperin le Grand'' ("Couperin the Great") to distinguish him from other members of the musi ...
to
André Jolivet
André Jolivet (; 8 August 1905 – 20 December 1974) was a French composer. Known for his devotion to French culture and musical thought, Jolivet drew on his interest in acoustics and atonality, as well as both ancient and modern musical influ ...
.
[ Goldman, Richard F., "Reviews of Records: Jolivet: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. Concerto for Trumpet, Piano and String Orchestra; Andante for String Orchestra" (July 1954). ''The Musical Quarterly'', 40 (3): 465-466.]
Bour died in Strasbourg, aged 88.
References
External links
Ernest Bour's recordings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bour, Ernest
1913 births
2001 deaths
People from Thionville
Musicians from Strasbourg
French male conductors (music)
20th-century French conductors (music)
20th-century French male musicians
People from Alsace-Lorraine
Chief conductors of the SWR Baden-Baden Freiburg Symphony Orchestra