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, he studied at the

Cologne Conservatory 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 million ...

and was a student of

Fritz Brun 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 at the conservatory at Cologne, and studied piano and theory the ...

, Franz Wüllner, Isidor Seiss and Friedrich Wilhelm Franke. In 1900 he was a soloist tutor at the

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

Hofoper. In 1902 he took over the leadership of the Mixed Choir of Zurich (), where he remained until 1949, also leading the from 1902 to 1914 and the from 1904 to 1914. From 1906 to 1949, he led the

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich The Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich is a Swiss symphony orchestra based in Zürich. Its principal residence is the Tonhalle concert hall. Early history prior to the orchestra Precursor music ensembles in Zürich have included the music societies ...

; and from 1914 to 1939, the Conservatory of Zurich. (He was offered the opportunity of succeeding

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian 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 the modernism ...

as conductor of the

New York Philharmonic Orchestra The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

in 1911, but he declined.) Later he worked as freelance composer in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and worked internationally as a conductor (especially with the works of

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Ger ...

). He composed opera, symphony and chamber music, piano, violin, and oboe concertos, piano music, as well as choir music and songs. He died in Zurich. He is mentioned in Chapter XXI of

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

's novel '' Doctor Faustus'', where he is cited as conducting the ''Thirteen Brentano Lieder'' by the fictional composer Adrian Leverkühn. This fictional concert is said to have taken place in 1922 in the Tonhalle in Zurich.Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann. Knopf: 1997. Translation by John E. Woods, His grandson is the conductor , who recorded various of his grandfather's works for the Guild label.

Works (selection)

Operas

*''Ratcliff'', opera (1914) *''Abenteuer des Casanova'', opera (1924)

Orchestra

* Symphony in B flat major (unpublished, WoO) * Symphony No. 1 in F major (1900; recorded) * Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 31 (1920; recorded) * Sinfonische Fantasie, Op. 7 * Kleine Suite, Op. 27 (recorded) * Notturno und Scherzo, Op. 30 (1919; recorded) * Music for Orchestra, Op. 35 (1921; recorded) * ''Li-Tai-Pe'', Eight Chinese songs for tenor and orchestra, Op. 37 (recorded) * ''La cité sur la montagne'', festival music (1942)

Concertante works

* Piano Concerto in D (1898; recorded) * Konzertstück in B minor for piano and orchestra (1900; recorded) * Rhapsody for violin and orchestra, Op. 32 (1920; recorded) * Violin concerto, Op. 40 (1935; recorded) * Concertino for Oboe and Orchestra, Op. 42 (recorded)

Choral works

*''Vater unser'' for mezzo-soprano, women's choir and organ *''Das Göttliche'' for tenor, choir and orchestra (1900) *''Charons Nachen'' for soloists, choir, and orchestra (1901) *''Schutzgeister'', cantata (1904) *''Li-Tai-Pe'', Eight Chinese songs for tenor and orchestra (1931; recorded) – inspired by the 8th-century poet Li Tai-peh (Li Taibai, aka

Li Bai Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...

)

Chamber music

* Piano Trio No. 1 in F minor, Op. 1 (recorded) * Violin Sonata in D major, Op. 4 * String Quartet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 9 (recorded) * Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 14 (recorded) * Six piano pieces for two hands, Op. 20 * String Trio in D minor, Op. 29 * Notturno and Scherzo, Op. 30 * String Quartet No. 2, Op. 33 (recorded) * Quartet for Flute, Violin, Viola and Violoncello, Op. 43 (recorded)

References

External links

Volkmar Andreae sound-bites from chamber music works and short bio
1879 births 1962 deaths Swiss composers Swiss male composers Swiss conductors (music) Male conductors (music) People from Bern Zurich University of the Arts faculty {{Switzerland-conductor-stub