Waldemar von Baußnern

Waldemar Edler von Baußnern (also "Baussnern" or "Bausznern"; born November 29, 1866, Berlin, Germany; died August 20, 1931 in Potsdam, Germany) was a German composer and music teacher.

Life

Born in Berlin and descended from Transylvanian Saxons, Baussnern was the son of a financial official. He grew up in both Transylvania (in the then Rumania) and Budapest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in present-day Hungary). Between 1882-1886 he was a student of Friedrich Kiel and Woldemar Bargiel at the Berlin Musical Academy (Berliner Musikhochschule). He then conducted various choirs; after 1909 he became director of the Großherzlichen Musikschule in Frankfurt am Main. In 1923 he became undersecretary of the Berliner Akademie der Künste.

Music

Baussnern's extensive catalogue of compositions includes almost all musical genres, yet it displays an emphasis on both choral symphonic and orchestral composition. As a composer, Baussnern found stimulation from poetry, for not only his vocal music, but also his instrumental music; the poetry of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe emerged as an especial source of inspiration. This compositional impetus is reflected in numerous titles of his works, yet his oeuvre lacks any programmatic design. Sylistically, Baussnern stands out as a maverick to his contemporaries, remaining a composer who defies classification. Generally, however, his music is rooted in the 19th century, yet exhibits independence of form, ranging from extremes of conventional tonality to frequently polyphonic chromaticism, nonetheless never metamorphosizing into atonality.

Baussnern completed Peter Cornelius's fragmentary opera "Gunlöd" in 1906 and served as editor of the operatic section of a comprehensive edition of Cornelius' works.

Sustained success eluded Baussnern during his life, and many of his compositions (for example, all of his symphonies) were never published. Research into Baussnern's work remains in its infancy, but a Baussnern Society (Baußnern-Gesellschaft), founded by German composer Dietrich von Bausznern (1920-1980), Baussnern's grandson, seeks to promote awareness of his life's work. Current chair of the society is Angela Gehann-Dernbach.

Selected Works

Operas

* "Poet and World" ("Dichter und Welt"), musical drama (Libretto: Julius Petri; 1894, première: Weimar 1897)
* "Dürer in Venice" ("Dürer in Venedig") (Libretto: Adolf Bartels based on a text from a novella by Adolf Stern; 1897, première: Weimar 1901)
* "Herbort and Hilde: (“Herbort und Hilde"), light heroic opera (Libretto: Eduard König; 1901, première: Mannheim 1902)
* "The Bundschuh" ("Der Bundschuh") (Libetto: Otto Erler; 1903, première Frankfurt am Main 1904, surviving only in a piano arrangement)
* "Satyros" ("Satyros") (Libetto: Waldemar von Baußnern based on a text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; 1922, première: Basel 1923)

Choral Works

* "The Birth of Jesus" ("Die Geburt Jesu"), Christmas motet for soprano, alto, choir, orchestra und organ(1911)
* "The Song of Songs on Life and Death" ("Das Hohe Lied vom Leben und Sterben"), oratorio für solists, choir and orchestera (1913, surviving only in a piano arrangement)
* "Aus unserer Not", Kantate für Bariton, Chor und Orgel (based on a text by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, 1923)
* "Ich will den Herrn loben" für Chor und Orgel (nach Psalm 34 1925)
* "Das Göttliche" für Chor und Orchester (based on a text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1927)
* "Hafis", Sinfonische Kantate für Soli, Chor, Orchester und Orgel (based on a text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1929)
* numerous smaller a cappella compositions, including:
*"Deutschland! Heil’ger Name!", Hymne für gemischten Chor (based on a text by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben)

Orchestral Works

* Ouvertüre "Champagner" für großes Orchester (1899)
* Sinfonie Nr. 1 A-Dur "Jugend" (1899)
* Sinfonie Nr. 2 h-Moll "Dem Andenken von Johannes Brahms" (1899)
* Sinfonie Nr. 3 "Leben" (with a final chorale, "Ganymed", based on a text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1911)
* Sinfonie Nr. 4 c-Moll (1914)
* Kammersinfonie "Himmlische Idyllen" für 10 Streicher und Orgel (1916)
* Sinfonie Nr. 5 "Es ist ein Schnitter, heißt der Tod" (with a final chorale based on the eponymous folk song, 1922)
* Sinfonie Nr. 6 "Psalm der Liebe" (with solo soprano in Elizabeth Barrett-Browning's paraphrase of Rainer Maria Rilke, 1921)
* "Hymnische Stunden", drei Stücke für Streichorchester (1925)
* Sinfonie Nr. 7 "Die Ungrische" (1926)
* Suite "Dem Lande meiner Kindheit" (1929)
* Sinfonie Nr. 8 (1930)
* Passacaglia und Fuge für großes Orchester (1931)

Chamber Music

* Streichquartett Nr. 1 (1893)
* Klavierquintett Es-Dur (1896)
* Quintett für Klavier, Violine, Klarinette, Horn und Violoncello F-Dur (1898)
* Serenade für Violine, Klarinette und Klavier Es-Dur (1898)
* Streichsextett (1910)
* "Ungarisches Thema mit Variationen, Passacaglia und Fuge" für Violine und Klavier (1916)
* Sonate für Violine und Klavier (1916)
* Streichquartett Nr. 2 (1918)
* Klaviertrio A-Dur "Weimarer Trio" (1921)
* Streichquartett Nr. 3 (1923)
* "Ungarische Sonate" für Violine und Klavier (1923)
* Vier Instrumentalsuiten für Violine bzw. Flöte bzw. Klarinette bzw. Violoncello und Klavier (1924)
* Klaviertrio G-Dur "O bellissima Italia" (1925)
* Drei Triosonaten für zwei Violinen und Klavier (1928)
* Drei ernste Stücke für Violine bzw. Viola bzw. Violoncello und Orgel (1928)

Piano Music

* "Sonata eroica" cis-Moll (1906)
* Präludium, Fuge und Finale für zwei Klaviere (1914)
* Drei kleine Sonaten (1916)
* Zwei Präludien und Fugen "Dem Gedächtnis der Toten - Den Lebenden" (1916)
* Suite "Nächtliche Visionen" (1926)

Organ Music

*Choralfantasie über "Aus tiefer Not" (1912)
*Passacaglia c-Moll (1927)
*Sonate a-Moll (1927)
*Drei Präludien und Fugen (1928)
*Präludium und Tripelfuge a-Moll (1930)
*Choral preludes

ongs

* "Zwölf Lieder zur Laute" für Singstimme und Laute (1911)
* "Gesänge aus der Tiefe" für Bariton und Orchester (based on texts by Friedrich Rückert, Friedrich Nietzsche, Nikolaus Lenau, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe), 1921
* "Die himmlische Orgel", Liederzyklus für Alt oder Bariton, Kammerorchester und Orgel (based on a text by Richard von Volkmann, 1924)
* numerous songs for voice and piano

Arrangements

* "Gunlöd" (a completed arangement of an unfinished fragmentary opera by Peter Cornelius, 1906)
* numerous arrangements of folk songs, including:
**"Alte Volkslieder, dreistimmig gesetzt" (1913)

References

* Vera Grützner, "Waldemar von Baußnern - Leben und Werk", Musikgeschichtliche Studien 2, Gehann-Musik-Verlag: Kludenbach 1999.
* Karl Teutsch / Monica Vlaicu, "Waldemar von Baußnern, Biografie - Briefe - Berichte - Bilder", Musikgeschichtliche Studien VI, two volumes, Gehann-Musik-Verlag: Kludenbach 2003.

External Links

* [http://www.suedost-musik.de/html/lexikon/Bausznern.html short German biography of Baußnern's life]
* [http://www.bausznern.org/ German-language homepage of the Baußnern-Gesellschaft]
* [http://www.hermann-keller.org/aufsaetzeinzeitschriftenundzeitungen/1927waldemarvonbaunern.html a German-language Hermann Keller article on Baußnern]
* [http://www.free-scores.com/PDF/serenade-movements-for-clarinet-violin-and-piano-7870.pdf Serenade for violin, clarinet, and piano in E-flat major (full score)]