Hermann Haller (9 June 1914 – 13 August 2002) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

composer.

Life

Hermann Haller was born in

Burgdorf, Switzerland Burgdorf (; ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Bùùrdlef'') is the largest city in the Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It was the Capital (political), capital of the Burgdorf District, district of the same name until 2010, ...

. His uncle was the sculptor Hermann Haller. After his

matura or its translated terms (''mature'', ''matur'', , , , , ', ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

in 1933 he studied at the conservatory of Zurich:

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, ...

, Paul Müller-Zürich and Rudolf Wittelsbach were his teachers. In 1938–39 he studied composition in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Haller started to teach

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 ...

at the "Lehrerseminar" Küsnacht until 1979. He wrote many works, including three

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

s, two

piano concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

s, one symphony for large orchestra and a

song cycle A song cycle () is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in sequence, as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarely a combinat ...

for

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

and orchestra, ''Ed è subito sera'' (1978), on poems of

Salvatore Quasimodo Salvatore Quasimodo (; 20 August 1901 – 14 June 1968) was an Italian poet and translator, awarded the 1959 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own times" ...

Works (selection)

Chamber music

* ''Sonate'' for flute and piano (1945) * ''String quartet'' (1961) * ''6 Inventionen'' for flute and harpsichord (1966) * ''«In memoriam»'' 5 pieces for piano trio (1968) * ''Sonata'' for piano (1969) * ''String quartet #2'' (1971) * ''3 Nocturnes'' for viola and piano (1972) * ''Oktett'' for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, string quartet and piano (1976) * ''5 pièces en forme de variations'' for wind quintet (1980) * ''«Blaue Wand»'', Impressionen nach einem Bild von Hans Fischli for flute, string sextet and piano (1986) * ''String quartet #3'' (1992)

Orchestral works

* ''Concerto per archi'' (1961) * ''Sinfonie'' (nach Gemälden von Max Gubler) (1965) * ''Ballade'' for horn and string orchestra (1967) * ''«Per la Camerata»'' for 16 strings (1974) * ''Variations'' for orchestra (1975/76) * ''«Fünf Aspekte»'' for orchestra (1985/86)

Solo concertos

* ''Konzert'' for organ and string orchestra Orgel (1957) * ''Konzert #1'' for piano and orchestra (1959) * ''Doppelkonzert'' for flute, clarinet and string orchestra (1961) * ''Konzert #2'' for piano and string orchestra (1962) * ''Extension – Contraction'', musique élégiaque pour violoncelle et orchestre (1980/81) * ''«Episoden»'' for viola and orchestra (1990/91)

Vocal works

* ''«Exoratio»'' for alto and string quartet (or string orchestra) (1956) * ''5 Lieder'' on poems by Hölderlin for alto solo and orchestra (1961) * ''«Hiob»'', oratorio for soprano and baritone solo, mixed choir, organ and orchestra (1974) * ''Psalm 103'' for soprano solo, mixed choir and organ (1976) * ''«Ed è subito sera»'', cinque liriche su versi di

per baritono e orchestra (1978) * ''Abschied'' for soprano solo and string orchestra (on the poem "El viaje definitivo" by

Juan Ramón Jiménez Juan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón (; 23 December 1881 – 29 May 1958) was a Spanish poet, a prolific writer who received the 1956 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which in the Spanish language constitutes an example of high ...

(1984) * ''Blätterfall…'' for baritone solo and string sextet, on a poem by Adrien Turel (1994)

References

External links

Hermann Haller biography and list of works at Musinfo, the Database of Swiss Music

Hermann Haller's musical works on YouTube
* 1914 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Swiss classical composers People from Burgdorf, Switzerland Swiss male classical composers Zurich University of the Arts alumni 20th-century Swiss male musicians {{composer-stub