Ernst Hess (13 May 1912 – 2 November 1968) was a Swiss conductor, composer and musicologist.

Career

Born in Schaffhausen, Hess studied at the conservatory of Zurich from 1932 and 1934, and then at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, with Paul Dukas and

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

among others. From 1935 he worked in Switzerland as conductor of several choirs and orchestras. In 1938, he was appointed lecturer of music theory at the conservatory of

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...

. From 1956, he taught musicology at the University of Zurich. As a composer, he wrote mostly sacred and secular choral music, namely the

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

''Jeremia''. He was awarded the composition prize of the Conrad-Ferdinand-Meyer-Stiftung in 1947. In 1966 he received the Hans-Georg-Nägeli-Medaille of Zurich. Hess died in

Egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

Selected works

* Suite for Guitar Solo (1935); Hug G.H. 11468 * Suite for Viola Solo, Op. 14 (1936) * Concerto for Viola, Cello and Chamber Orchestra, Op. 20 * ''Sinfonia academia'' (Kleine Sinfonia), Op. 22 * Concerto for Horn and Chamber Orchestra, Op. 24 * Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 27 * ''Kleine Musik'', for

basset horn The basset horn (sometimes hyphenated as basset-horn) is a member of the clarinet family of musical instruments. Construction and tone Like the clarinet, the instrument is a wind instrument with a single reed and a cylindrical bore. Howeve ...

, violin, viola and cello, Op. 29b (Amadeus Verlag BP 543) * ''Sinfonia concertante'', for violin, piano and orchestra, Op. 55 * ''Unter Dach und Himmel'', three poems by Werner Weber for men's chorus ( TTBB), alto solo and piano, Op. 56 (Hug G.H. 10624) * ''Capriccio'', for trombone and piano, Op. 57 (Helbling Best.-Nr. 10231) * ''Concerto da camera'', for cello and chamber orchestra, Op. 63 * ''Wenn im Unendlichen'', after

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treatis ...

, for mixed choir a cappella (Hug G.H. 10904) * ''Schweizergebet'', on a text by Rudolf Hägni, for mixed choir and organ ad lib (Hug G.H. 9319) * ''Zeitgenössische Orgelmusik im Gottesdienst'' (contemporary music in the church service) (Edition Eulenburg)

External links

* *
Nachlass von Ernst Hess in der Zentralbibliothek Zürich

Texthalde: Ernst Hess - ''Jeremia'' – Das Werk eines Schweizer Komponisten
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hess, Ernst 1912 births 1968 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians 20th-century musicologists École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni Male conductors (music) People from Schaffhausen Swiss classical composers Swiss conductors (music) Swiss male classical composers Swiss musicologists Academic staff of the University of Zurich 20th-century Swiss composers