Fritz Brun (18 August 1878 – 29 November 1959) was a
Swiss pianist,
conductor and composer of
classical music.
Life
Brun was born in
Lucerne. He was a student of
Franz Wüllner
Franz Wüllner (28 January 1832 – 7 September 1902) was a German composer and conductor. He led the premieres of Wagner's ''Das Rheingold'' and ''Die Walküre'', but was much criticized by Wagner himself, who greatly preferred the more celebrate ...
at the
conservatory at
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
,
and studied piano and theory there until 1902. The following year he became a piano teacher at the music school in
Bern.
From 1909 until 1941, he led the symphony concerts of the ''
Bernischen Musikgesellschaft'', and was conductor of the choral society and lieder group there.
From 1926 to 1940, additionally, he was the vice-president of the Swiss music society ''Tonkünstlerverein''. In June 1941 Brun retired, except for occasional returns to conducting. He dedicated his first violin sonata to violinist
Adele Bloesch-Stöcker
Adele Bloesch-Stöcker (12 June 1875 – 10 September 1978) was a Swiss-German violinist and composer. She was born in Gummersbach, Germany, and was associated with Fritz Brun and Othmar Schoeck.
She performed in Cologne, Berlin, Leipzig and Ber ...
.
In 1912 Brun married Hanna Rosenmund; they had three children. Brun died in
Grosshöchstetten
Grosshöchstetten is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Schlosswil merged into the municipality of Grosshöchstetten.
History
Grossh ...
.
Compositions
Fritz Brun composed many works, his most popular being the 10 symphonies composed between 1901 and 1953, the symphonies have been considered as significant works in his country's musical life.
From 2003 to 2015, these symphonies were collectively performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the Swiss conducto
Adrianoand released in May 2019 by Brilliant Classics.
The set consists of individual recordings by the Guild Music Label.
Beside the symphonies, Brun also composed 4 string quartets, a piano concerto, a cello concerto, many more including vocal works.
Brun's work has been considered and compared to the style of Brahms.
This might be because Brun specialized in and admired the work of Brahms, especially as a conductor.
[Neue Zeitschrift für Musik - 1969 - Volume 78, Part 1 - Page 148 (translated: "In a perfect performance he offered Brahms' song of fate , whose works Fritz Brun always interprets with complete devotion.")]
Symphonies
*No. 1 in B minor (1901) (premiered 1 June 1908 conducted by the composer)
[See Brun Website Worklist (http://www.fritzbrun.ch/e/werkverzeichnis.html )]
*No. 2 in B (1911) (premiered 14 February 1911 conducted by
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, ...
)
*No. 3 in D minor (1919) (premiered 3 March 1920, conducted by the composer)
*No. 4 in E (1925) (premiered 2 February 1926 conducted by Volkmar Andreae)
)
*No. 5 in E (1929) (
Chaconne
A chaconne (; ; es, chacona, links=no; it, ciaccona, links=no, ; earlier English: ''chacony'') is a type of musical composition often used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short rep ...
/Gehetzt, phantastisch/Langsam (slow)/Rasch und wütend) (premiered 14 January 1930 conducted by Volkmar Andreae)
[Guild biography page, subpage with description of symphonies 5 and 10.]
*No. 6 in C (1932–1933) (premiered 29 October 1933 conducted by
Hermann Scherchen)
*No. 7 in D (1937) (premiered 10 November 1937 conducted by Hermann Scherchen)
*No. 8 in A (1938–1942?)
(premiered 11 November 1942 conducted by Hermann Scherchen)
)
*No. 9 in F (symphony/suite; five movements) (1949–50)
[Guild biography page, Subpage describing symphony 9/Aus dem Buch Hiob recording] (premiered 12 December 1960, conducted by Volkmar Andreae)
*No. 10 in B (1953, premiered 7 November 1955 conducted by Luc Balmer)
*Symphonic Prologue for Orchestra (3 December 1944)
Concertos
*Piano concerto in A major (1946)
*Cello Concerto in D minor (1947)
String Quartets
*No.1 in E major (1898)
*No.2 in G major (1921)
*No.3 in F major (1943)
*No.4 in D major (1949)
Sonatas
*Piano and violin sonata in D minor (1906)
*Piano and violin sonata in D major (1951)
*Piano and cello sonata in F minor (1952)
Other Works
*Piano Quintet in B major (1902)
*Variations for piano and strings (premiered 13 October 1944)
*Overture to a Julibee Celebration (May 1950)
*Orchestra Rhapsody (1958)
*3 Lieder (Based on work by Othmar Schoeck)
*5 Lieder
*"Aus dem Buch Hiob" (Translated: "From the book of Job") (1906)
*Divertimento for piano and strings (1954)
Selected discography
* Fritz Brun. Complete Orchestral Works Brilliant Classics 957845; 11Cds 2003–2015, 1946 (CD11) originally released as individual recordings by the Guild Music label
Sources
*
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brun, Fritz
1878 births
1959 deaths
19th-century male musicians
20th-century classical composers
20th-century conductors (music)
20th-century male musicians
Romantic composers
Swiss classical composers
Swiss male classical composers
Swiss conductors (music)
Male conductors (music)
People from Lucerne
20th-century Swiss composers