Rudolf Braun (21 October 186930 December 1925) was an Austrian

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

who was born congenitally blind.Duxbury Systems: The development of education for blind people
/ref> He was born and died in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Very little is recorded of Braun's early life. He was educated at the School for the Blind. He earned his living nearly exclusively from music and at the age of 12, he gave a performance as a pianist at a concert of the Vienna Men's Choral Society. On 3 March 1896 he gave a concert of his own compositions.

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

premiered Braun's ''Marionettentreuse'' at the Vienna Court Opera on 17 October 1906, to excellent reviews. In 1925 the title of Professor was bestowed on him. In 1923

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

used his influence to obtain financial assistance for some struggling composers, including Braun,

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

Anton Webern Anton Webern (; 3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and musicologist. His music was among the most radical of its milieu in its lyric poetry, lyrical, poetic concision and use of then novel atonality, aton ...

and

Josef Matthias Hauer Josef Matthias Hauer (March 19, 1883 – September 22, 1959) was an Austrian composer and music theorist. He is best known for developing, independent of and a year or two before Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 Septembe ...

. Braun wrote seven works for the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein, including a Piano Concerto in A minor for the Left Hand. This concerto was written in 1924 and was first performed on 12 December 1927, almost two years after his death, with Wittgenstein as soloist and Julius Lehnert conducting. The Concerto in A minor is the only concerto Braun wrote and is unique in the fact that the cadenza of the work is located near the end of the piece. Influences of

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of N ...

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

and

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

are prevalent throughout this work. Wittgenstein, who owned this work outright, performed this piece four times: twice in Vienna in 1927 and 1929 with the Vienna Women's Symphony(Julius Lehnert conducting) and twice in the Netherlands in October/November 1930 with the Arnhemshe Orkestvereeniging with Martin Spanjaard conducting. From a review of the Concerto in A minor from the Dutch archives in 1930 the following can be extracted. "The concerto written by Rudolf Braun for Paul Wittgenstein is not exceptionally original or personal. The concerto breathes the spirit of Schumann, reminds one of Tschaikowsky (in the beginning) and Grieg (in the final movement). The beginning of this concerto promises more than the rest gives. Extraordinary is the transfer of the Cadenza to the last movement."

Known works

* ''Fünf Lieder'', Op. 3, pub. 1897 * ''Drei Klavierstücke'', Op. 16: Valse caprice, Gedenkblatt, Maiglöckchen * String Quintet in E minor, Op. 38, pub. 1912, ViennaKlassika: Rudolf Braun
/ref> * Wind Quintet in C major, 1920 * Cello Sonata in E minor, pub. 1926; inscribed "In freundschaftlicher Erinnerung an Frau Senta Jölly – Klagenfurt" * Piano Concerto in A minor for the Left Hand; written for Paul Wittgenstein; first performed 31 October 1927 with the Vienna Women's Symphony Orchestra, Julius Lehnert conducting * Three Piano Pieces for the Left Hand: Scherzo, Perpetuum Mobile, Serenata; dedicated to Wittgenstein; 1922, pub. 1928 * Divertimento for Two Pianos * ''Die Tänzerin under die Marionette'', a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

with scenario by Max Mell.Christopher Hailey, Franz Schreker 1878-1934: A Cultural Biography, footnote 68, p. 333
/ref>

References

12. Bidnick, Richard A., Left Handed – Piano Concertos for the Left hand alone – The Pianists who Inspired the Composers. April 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Rudolf 1869 births 1925 deaths Composers from Vienna Austrian classical organists Austrian male classical organists Blind classical musicians Austrian blind people Musicians from Vienna Austrian pianists 19th-century pianists 19th-century Austrian male musicians 19th-century musicians Blind scholars and academics Pianists from Austria-Hungary Organists from Austria-Hungary Composers from Austria-Hungary