Walter Braunfels

Walter Braunfels (IPA2|ˈvaltɐ ˈbʁaʊnfɛls; December 19, 1882 – March 19, 1954) was a German composer, pianist, and music educator.

Life

Walter Braunfels was born in Frankfurt am Main. His first music teacher was his mother, the great-niece of the composer Louis Spohr (Levi 2001). He continued his piano studies in Frankfurt at the Hoch Conservatory with James Kwast (Frithjof [n.d.] ).

Braunfels studied law and economics at the university in Munich until a performance of Richard Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" decided him on music. He went to Vienna in 1902 to study with the great pianist and teacher Theodor Leschetizky. He then returned to Munich to study composition with Felix Mottl and Ludwig Thuille (Levi 2001).

Braunsfels performed as a professional pianist for many years. In 1949 he played Beethoven's "Diabelli Variations" on a radio broadcast.Fact|date=May 2008

Braunfels served as the first director (and founder together with Hermann Abendroth) of the Cologne Academy of Music ("Hochschule für Musik Köln") from 1925 to 1933, and again from 1945 to 1950 (Levi 2001; Warrack and West 1992,Fact|date=July 2008 ). With the rise of the Nazis to power he was dismissed on account of his being half-Jewish and his composing what the regime called "Degenerate music". He retired from public life during the Hitler years but continued to compose. After World War II, he returned to public life and on 12 October 1945 again became director, and in 1948 president, of the Cologne Academy of Music ( [http://www.walterbraunfels.de/Walter%20Braunfels%20-%20CV.htm Walter Braunfels Curriculum Vita] ) and further enhanced his reputation as a music educator with high ideals.

Music

Walter Braunfels was well-known as a composer between the two World Wars but fell into oblivion after his death. There is now something of a renaissance of interest in his works. His opera "Die Vögel", based on the play "The Birds" by Aristophanes, has been successfully revivedFact|date=May 2008 and was recorded by Decca in 1996.

Braunfels's music is in the German classical-romantic tradition. His "Phantastische Erscheinungen eines Themas von Hector Berlioz" is a giant set of variations. "Structurally the work has something in common with Strauss' "Don Quixote" -- on LSD," noted David Hurwitz of ClassicsToday. "The orchestral technique also is quite similar, recognizably German school, with luscious writing for violins and horns, occasional outbursts of extreme virtuosity all around, and a discerning but minimal use of additional percussion."Citequote|date=May 2008

Braunfels composed music in a number of different genres, not only operas, but also songs, choral works and orchestral, chamber and piano pieces. His works include:

Operas

* "Prinzessin Brambilla" (after E. T. A. Hoffmann) (1909)
* "Ulenspiegel" (1913)
* "Die Vögel" (1920)
* "Don Gil von den Grünen Hosen" (1924)
* "Der Gläserne berg" (1929)
* "Galathea" (1929)
* "Der Traum ein Leben" (1937)
* "Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna" (1943)
* "Verkündigung" (after Paul Claudel) (composed 1933-5, premièred 1948)
* "Der Zauberlehrling" (1954)

Oratorios

* "Offenbarung Johannis (1919)
* "Spiel von der Auferstehung (1954)

Selected other works

* Serenade, Op. 20 (1910)
* "Phantastiche Erscheinungen eines Themas von Hector Berlioz" (Fantastic Appearances of a Theme by Hector Berlioz), Op. 25 (1914–17)
* Organ Concerto, Op. 38 (1927)
* "Schottische Fantasie" for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 47 (1933)
* Music ("Sinfonia Concertante") for Violin Solo, Viola Solo, 2 Horns and String Orchestra, Op. 68 (1948)

References

*Haas, Frithjof. [n.d.] " [http://www.walterbraunfels.de/Frithjof%20Haas%20english.html Timelessly Unfashionable: About the Compositional Work of Walter Braunfels] ", translated by Maroula Blades and Joerg Heinrich.
*Jung, Ute. 1980. "Walter Braunfels (1882–1954)". Studien zur Musikgeschichte des 19. Jahrhunderts 58. Regensburg: Bosse.
*Levi, Erik. "Braunfels, Walter". "The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians", edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrell. London: Macmillan.
*Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), "The Oxford Dictionary of Opera", 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5

External links

* [http://www.walterbraunfels.de/index_eng_neu_Home.swf Walter Braunfels] English-language page at SWF website.
* [http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=8451 ClassicsToday] review by David Hurwitz
* [http://www.classical-composers.org/cgi-bin/ccd.cgi?comp=braunfels Classical Composers Database]
* [http://cmslib.rrz.uni-hamburg.de:6292/object/lexm_lexmperson_00001413 Walter Braunfels] short biography by Michael Custodis. de icon