Fritz Brun (18 August 1878 – 29 November 1959) was a Swiss pianist, conductor and composer of classical music.
Brun was born in Lucerne. He was a student of Franz Wüllner at the conservatory at Cologne, [1] and studied piano and theory there until 1902. The following year he became a piano teacher at the music school in Bern. [1] From 1909 until 1941, he led the symphony concerts of the Bernischen Musikgesellschaft , and was conductor of the choral society and lieder group there. [1] 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.
In 1912 Brun married Hanna Rosenmund; they had three children. Brun died in Grosshöchstetten. [2]
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. [3] From 2003 to 2015, these symphonies were collectively performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the Swiss conductor Adriano and released in May 2019 by Brilliant Classics. [4] 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. [5] [6] This might be because Brun specialized in and admired the work of Brahms, especially as a conductor. [7] [8]
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B♭ major, Op. 83, by Johannes Brahms is separated by a gap of 22 years from his first piano concerto. Brahms began work on the piece in 1878 and completed it in 1881 while in Pressbaum near Vienna. It took him three years to work on this concerto, which indicates that he was always self-critical. He wrote to Clara Schumann: "I want to tell you that I have written a very small piano concerto with a very small and pretty scherzo." Ironically, he was describing a huge piece. This concerto is dedicated to his teacher, Eduard Marxsen. The public premiere of the concerto was given in Budapest on 9 November 1881, with Brahms as soloist and the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, and was an immediate success. He proceeded to perform the piece in many cities across Europe.
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