Robert Schollum (22 August 1913 – 30 September 1987) was an Austrian composer, conductor, music educator, music critic, musicographer and academic scholar. He was president of the for several years in the 1960s and 1980s.

Life and career

Education

Born in Vienna, Schollum studied composition with Joseph Marx,

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

with Egon Lustgarten and organ and piano with Carl Lafite at the Neues Wiener Konservatorium and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He taught as assistant to Anton Maria Klafsky at the New Vienna Conservatory and gave piano lessons at the Conservatory for Folk Music.

National Socialism

In 1932, Schollum joined the Hitler Youth, later also the SA. From 1933, he performed as a conductor. From 1939 to 1945, he did military service with the Wehrmacht, and after being wounded, he served as a purser on the Russian Front. In addition, he worked as a pianist, conductor and choir director for the Hitler Youth and was a district commissioner of the

Reich Chamber of Music The Reich Chamber of Music (German: ''Reichsmusikkammer'') was a Nazi institution. It promoted "good German music" which was composed by Aryans and seen as consistent with Nazi ideals, while suppressing other, "degenerate" music, which included ato ...

for music education. After the

airstrike An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...

of his Vienna flat in 1944, he moved to Ottensheim near Linz.

Career after the Second World War

From 1945, Schollum was choirmaster at the

Old Cathedral, Linz , image = Alter Dom Linz (DFdB).JPG , imagesize = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = Old Cathedral from the roof of the "Passage" shopping mall , pushpin map ...

and also directed the Ignatius Choir, the Sängerbund "Frohsinn" and the Linz Chamber Orchestra. In 1946, he became head of the Linz Municipal Music Directorate, in 1952 music advisor to the Department of Culture and in 1953 municipal music director. He founded the Linz section of the

International Society for New Music International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, whose "Arnold Schönberg Medal" he received in 1953. From 1955, Schollum conducted the Vienna City Serenade, in the same year he founded the . In 1956, he became regional choir master of the . In Linz as well as in Vienna he made radio broadcasts on a case-by-case basis. In 1958 he was awarded the , the following year he was appointed Professor of Lied and Oratorio at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna; he held this post until 1983. In 1960, he was awarded the Honorary Prize of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture for outstanding achievements in the field of popular education; in 1961, he received the

State Prize for Music State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and in 1971 the . From 1963, Schollum was the national choir director of the Workers' Singers' Association. From 1965 to 1969 and from 1983 to 1984, he was president of the Austrian Composers' Association. In 1973, he was made an honorary member. In 1978, he was awarded the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art and the in gold. Grave Schollum Robert

Schollum died in Vienna at the age of 74. He is buried in an honorary grave (group 40, number 157) at the Vienna Central Cemetery.

Work

Already as a student, Schollum composed more than 100 Volkslied movements. Later, his compositions were first in the tradition of

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

, then in that of

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

and Darius Milhaud. In the 1950s, he then moved on to partly tonally bound serial compositions. His oeuvre encompasses almost all genres from instrumental solo works, chamber music, choral works and songs to instrumental concertos and symphonies. His estate is housed in the music collection of the Austrian National Library.

Publications

* ''Musik in der Volksbildung'' (1959) * ''Egon Wellesz'' (1964) * ''Das kleine Wiener Jazzbuch'' (1969) * ''Die Wiener Schule'' (1969) * ''Das österreichische Lied des 20. Jahrhunderts''''Das österreichische Lied des 20. Jahrhunderts''
on WorldCat (1977)

References

External links

*
''Robert Schollum''
im Musiklexikon der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften * Christian Heindl: ''Robert Schollum'', KDG – Komponisten der Gegenwart, in Munzinger-Archiv
Start of article freely available) * * Regina Thumser: ''Robert Schollum.'' 2008
pdf on Austria-Forum
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schollum, Robert 20th-century Austrian composers
20th-century Austrian male musicians Austrian conductors (music) Austrian music educators University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art 1913 births 1987 deaths Musicians from Vienna