Kurt Graunke (September 20, 1915 in

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

, Germany – June 5, 2005 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

) was a German composer and conductor. He was the founder of an eponymous orchestra that became the

Munich Symphony Orchestra The Munich Symphony Orchestra (Münchner Symphoniker) is a German orchestra based in Munich. The orchestra gives subscription concerts at the Herkulessaal and the Prinzregententheater and, to a lesser degree, at the Philharmonie am Gasteig, a ...

. He has been labelled as one of the worst composers of all time by some music critics

Life

He studied violin, becoming the second concertmaster at the age of 17 of the local orchestra. In 1934 he began studying violin with Gustav Havemann, composition with Adolf Lessle and

Hermann Grabner Hermann Grabner (12 May 1886 – 3 July 1969) was an Austrian composer and music teacher. Career Grabner was born in Graz. He studied law at the University of Graz graduating in 1909. In parallel, he studied music with Leopold Suchsland unt ...

at the

Berlin Hochschule für Musik Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

, but had to withdraw in 1935 for financial reasons. During

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 ...

he studied conducting with Wolfgang Schneiderhan in Vienna. After the war, he moved to

where he started the Symphony Orchestra Graunke, conducting it until 1989. It served as a recording orchestra for more than 500 films and television shows. The orchestra became the Munich Symphony Orchestra in 1990.Symphonie-Orchester Graunke 1945-1985, Munich He composed 9

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

, a

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

, a

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 ...

, and many short works for orchestra. He reworked the String Quartet of 1974 into a Symphony for Strings, which he then fully orchestrated in 1976, becoming his third symphony. These have all been issued on compact disks by Sedina.

Works

*Symphony No. 1 in E major, The Homeland (1969) *Symphony No. 2 (1972) *Symphony No. 3 (1976) (based on the String Quartet) *Symphony No. 4 (1977) *Symphony No. 5 (1981) *Symphony No. 6 (1981) *Symphony No. 7 (1983) *Symphony No. 8 (1985) *Symphony No. 9 (1996) *Violin Concerto (1959) *String Quartet (1974) *Piano Concerto (1988)

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Graunke, Kurt 1915 births 2005 deaths 20th-century German composers Musicians from Szczecin