Fritz Brun (18 August 1878 – 29 November 1959) was a
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
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* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
pianist,
conductor
Conductor or conduction may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear
* Conduction aphasia, a language disorder
Mathematics
* Conductor (ring theory)
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and composer of
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
.
Life
Brun was born in
Lucerne
Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
. He was a student of
Franz Wüllner
Franz Wüllner (28 January 1832 – 7 September 1902) was a German composer and conductor. He led the premieres of Wagner's ''Das Rheingold'' and ''Die Walküre'', but was much criticized by Wagner himself, who greatly preferred the more celebrate ...
at the
conservatory at
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
,
and studied piano and theory there until 1902. The following year he became a piano teacher at the music school in
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
.
From 1909 until 1941, he led the symphony concerts of the ''
Bernischen Musikgesellschaft'', and was conductor of the choral society and lieder group there.
From 1926 to 1940, additionally, he was the vice-president of the Swiss music society ''Tonkünstlerverein''. In June 1941 Brun retired, except for occasional returns to conducting. He dedicated his first violin sonata to violinist
Adele Bloesch-Stöcker.
In 1912 Brun married Hanna Rosenmund; they had three children. Brun died in
Grosshöchstetten
Grosshöchstetten is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bern-Mittelland (administrative district), Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January ...
.
Compositions
Fritz Brun composed many works, his most popular being the 10 symphonies composed between 1901 and 1953, the symphonies have been considered as significant works in his country's musical life.
From 2003 to 2015, these symphonies were collectively performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the Swiss conducto
Adrianoand released in May 2019 by Brilliant Classics.
The set consists of individual recordings by the Guild Music Label.
Beside the symphonies, Brun also composed 4 string quartets, a piano concerto, a cello concerto, many more including vocal works.
Brun's work has been considered and compared to the style of Brahms.
This might be because Brun specialized in and admired the work of Brahms, especially as a conductor.
[Neue Zeitschrift für Musik - 1969 - Volume 78, Part 1 - Page 148 (translated: "In a perfect performance he offered Brahms' song of fate , whose works Fritz Brun always interprets with complete devotion.")]
Symphonies
*No. 1 in B minor (1901) (premiered 1 June 1908 conducted by the composer)
[See Brun Website Worklist (http://www.fritzbrun.ch/e/werkverzeichnis.html )]
*No. 2 in B (1911) (premiered 14 February 1911 conducted by
Volkmar Andreae
Volkmar Andreae (5 July 1879 – 18 June 1962) was a Swiss conductor and composer.
Life and career
Andreae was born in Bern. He received piano instruction as a child and his first lessons in composition with Karl Munzinger. From 1897 to 1900, ...
)
*No. 3 in D minor (1919) (premiered 3 March 1920, conducted by the composer)
*No. 4 in E (1925) (premiered 2 February 1926 conducted by Volkmar Andreae)
)
*No. 5 in E (1929) (
Chaconne
A chaconne ( , ; ; ; earlier English: chacony) is a type of musical composition often used as a vehicle for Variation (music), variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short repetitive bass-line (ground bass ...
/Gehetzt, phantastisch/Langsam (slow)/Rasch und wütend) (premiered 14 January 1930 conducted by Volkmar Andreae)
[Guild biography page, subpage with description of symphonies 5 and 10.]
*No. 6 in C (1932–1933) (premiered 29 October 1933 conducted by
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 ...
)
*No. 7 in D (1937) (premiered 10 November 1937 conducted by Hermann Scherchen)
*No. 8 in A (1938–1942?)
(premiered 11 November 1942 conducted by Hermann Scherchen)
)
*No. 9 in F (symphony/suite; five movements) (1949–50)
[Guild biography page, Subpage describing symphony 9/Aus dem Buch Hiob recording] (premiered 12 December 1960, conducted by Volkmar Andreae)
*No. 10 in B (1953, premiered 7 November 1955 conducted by Luc Balmer)
*Symphonic Prologue in E for Orchestra (3 December 1944)
Concertos
*Piano concerto in A major (1946)
*Cello Concerto in D minor (1947)
String Quartets
*No.1 in E major (1898)
*No.2 in G major (1921)
*No.3 in F major (1943)
*No.4 in D major (1949)
Sonatas
*Piano and violin sonata in D minor (1906)
*Piano and violin sonata in D major (1951)
*Piano and cello sonata in F minor (1952)
Other works
*Piano Quintet in B major (1902)
*Variations for piano and strings (premiered 13 October 1944)
*Overture to a Julibee Celebration in C major (May 1950)
*Orchestra Rhapsody (1958)
*3 Lieder (Based on work by Othmar Schoeck)
*5 Lieder
*"Aus dem Buch Hiob" (Translated: "From the book of Job") (1906)
*Divertimento for piano and strings (1954)
Selected discography
* Fritz Brun. Complete Orchestral Works Brilliant Classics 957845; 11Cds 2003–2015, 1946 (CD11) originally released as individual recordings by the Guild Music label
Sources
*
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brun, Fritz
1878 births
1959 deaths
19th-century male musicians
19th-century musicians
20th-century Swiss classical composers
20th-century Swiss conductors (music)
20th-century Swiss male musicians
Romantic composers
String quartet composers
Swiss male classical composers
Swiss male conductors (music)
Musicians from Lucerne