Bruch, Max

Bruch, Max – Leonidas Op. 66 for baritone solo, male choir and orchestra

(b. Cologne, January 6, 1838 – d. Friedenau near Berlin, October 2, 1920)

for baritone solo, male choir and orchestra

Foreword

Since its founding in 1843, the Wiener Männer Gesang-Verein – which has always been an amateur choir – has developed into a firmly institution with a radiance extending beyond Vienna and Austria. In its long history, the ensemble looks back on collaborations with renowned musicians, including composers Anton Bruckner and Richard Strauss or conductor Herbert von Karajan. However, the most prominent example is likely the waltz king Johann Strauss (Son), who in 1867 dedicated his probably most famous work to the Vienna Male Choir: the waltz An der schönen blauen Donau op. 314.

Max Bruch was also honored in 1893 to collaborate with this already prestigious institution: On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Vienna Male Choir, his choral-symphonic work Leonidas op. 66 was created as a commissioned composition. At that time, Bruch saw himself at the peak of his career. He had long established a considerable reputation as a composer, which is documented in contemporary reference works. Thus, Bruch is regarded in the the multi-volume encyclopedia by Hermann Mendel and August Reissmann, which was published successively in the second half of the 19th century, as “one of the most significant and versatile composers of the present day”1. After several positions as a conductor, including in Sondershausen, Breslau, and Liverpool, Bruch was appointed in 1891 as professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Arts in Berlin, thus holding an influential public office as a university lecturer. Moreover, he was the recipient of numerous awards, granted honorary memberships of the Beethoven-Haus Bonn and the Singakademie Breslau, as well as the Bavarian Maximilian Order. …

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