Adolf Busch
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Adolf Georg Wilhelm Busch (8 August 1891 – 9 June 1952) was a German–Swiss
violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists, notable violinists from the baroque era onwards * List of contemporary classical violinists, notable contemporary classical violinists * List of violinist/compose ...
, conductor, and composer.


Life and career

Busch was born in
Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly sho ...
in
Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...
. He studied at the
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
Conservatory with Willy Hess and Bram Eldering. His composition teacher was
Fritz Steinbach Fritz Steinbach (17 June 1855 – 13 August 1916) was a German conductor and composer who was particularly associated with the works of Johannes Brahms. Born in Grünsfeld, he was the brother of conductor Emil Steinbach. He studied at the Le ...
but he also learned much from his future father-in-law Hugo Grüters in Bonn. In 1912, Busch founded the
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
Konzertverein Quartet, consisting of the principals from the Konzertverein orchestra, which made its debut at the 1913 Salzburg Festival. After
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he founded the
Busch Quartet The Busch Quartet was a string quartet founded by Adolf Busch in 1919 that was particularly noted for its interpretations of the Classical and Romantic quartet repertoire. The group's recordings of Beethoven's Late String Quartets are especia ...
, which from the 1920–21 season included Gösta Andreasson, violin, Karl Doktor, viola, and
Paul Grümmer Paul Grümmer (26 February 1879 – 30 October 1965) was a German-born cellist and teacher. Grümmer was born in Gera in Thuringia. He studied at the Leipzig Conservatory with Julius Klengel. He was well known as a member of the Busch Quar ...
, cello. The quartet was in existence with varying personnel until 1951. The additional member of the circle was
Rudolf Serkin Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of the 20th century. Early life, childhood debut, and education Serkin was born in t ...
, who became Busch's duo partner at 18 and eventually married Busch's daughter, Irene, 1935 in Basel. The Busch Quartet and Serkin became the nucleus of the Busch Chamber Players, founded in Basel, a forerunner of modern chamber orchestras. In 1927, with the rise of Adolf Hitler, Busch decided he could not in good conscience stay in Germany, so he emigrated to
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
, Switzerland. Busch was not Jewish and was popular in Germany, but firmly opposed Nazism from the beginning. On 1 April 1933, he repudiated Germany altogether and in 1938, he boycotted Italy. As the Nazis tried to convince him to return to Germany, he declared that he would "return with joy on the day that Hitler,
Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
und Göring are publicly hanged." In 1935, he became a Swiss citizen of
Riehen Riehen (Swiss German: ''Rieche'') is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland. Together with the city of Basel and Bettingen, Riehen is one of three municipalities in the canton. Riehen hosts the Fondation Beyeler (a privately ...
, Basel. During 12 years in Basel and besides his many concerts around the world, he founded a chamber orchestra in Basel, was a co-founder of the
Lucerne Festival Lucerne Festival is one of the leading international festivals in the world of classical music and presents a series of classical music festivals based in Lucerne, Switzerland. Founded in 1938 by Ernest Ansermet and Walter Schulthess, it current ...
in 1938, together with Arturo Toscanini and his conducting brother
Fritz Busch Fritz Busch (13 March 1890 – 14 September 1951) was a German conductor. Busch was born in Siegen, Westphalia, to a musical family, and studied at the Cologne Conservatory. After army service in the First World War, he was appointed to senior p ...
, and taught many students in Basel, among them
Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...
. On the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Busch emigrated from Basel to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1939, where he eventually settled in
Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. There, he was one of the founders with
Rudolf Serkin Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of the 20th century. Early life, childhood debut, and education Serkin was born in t ...
of the
Marlboro Music School and Festival The Marlboro Music School and Festival is a retreat for advanced classical training and musicianship held for seven weeks each summer in Marlboro, Vermont, in the United States. Public performances are held each weekend while the school is in sess ...
. The Busch Quartet was particularly admired for its interpretations of
Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
,
Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
, and above all
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
. It made a series of recordings in the 1930s that included many of these composers' works for string quartet. In 1941, it set down three Beethoven quartets that it had not previously recorded, including Opus 130. The Busch Quartet never recorded the Grosse Fuge, Opus 133; an arrangement was recorded by the Busch Chamber Players, with Busch leading from the first violin desk. Busch was a great soloist, as well as a chamber musician, and live recordings exist of him playing the Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorák and
Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary f ...
Concertos, as well as the Brahms Double Concerto. In the studio he recorded concertos and chamber orchestra performances of Bach and Mozart, and of the Concerti grossi, op.6 by Handel; his recordings of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos brought them to prominence after many years of relative obscurity. He had a highly individual tone and great technique. Among his students were Stefi Geyer, Erica Morini and
Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...
. As a composer, Busch was influenced by
Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...
. He was among the first to compose a Concerto for Orchestra, in 1929. A number of his compositions have been recorded, including the Violin Concerto (A minor, opus 20, published 1922), String Sextet (G major, opus 40), Quintet for Saxophone and String Quartet, Violin Sonata No 2, Op. 56, Clarinet Sonata, and several large scale works for organ. Regarding the last, Busch once remarked that if he could come back after his death he would like to return as an organist. He was the son of the
luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...
Wilhelm Busch; brother of the conductor
Fritz Busch Fritz Busch (13 March 1890 – 14 September 1951) was a German conductor. Busch was born in Siegen, Westphalia, to a musical family, and studied at the Cologne Conservatory. After army service in the First World War, he was appointed to senior p ...
, the cellist Hermann Busch, the pianist Heinrich Busch and the actor Willi Busch, and father in law of the pianist
Rudolf Serkin Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of the 20th century. Early life, childhood debut, and education Serkin was born in t ...
. An exhaustive two-volume biography of Busch by Tully Potter was published in 2010 by Toccata Press In November 2015, Warner Classics released a 16-CD collection of Busch's recordings of Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and other composers.


References


External links

*
www.angel.org/busch/background.htm

Adolf Busch Discography (pdf)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Busch, Adolf 1891 births 1952 deaths German classical violinists Male classical violinists German male violinists Concertmasters Emigrants from Nazi Germany to Switzerland People from Siegen People from the Province of Westphalia German emigrants to the United States 20th-century German composers 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century German male musicians