Bungert, (Friedrich) August

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Bungert, (Friedrich) August

Bungert, (Friedrich) August, German composer; b. Mülheim an der Ruhr, March 14, 1845; d. Leutesdorf am Rhein, Oct. 26, 1915. He studied at the Cologne Cons. (1860–62), in Paris, and with Kiel in Berlin. His most ambitious project was the operatic tetralogy after Homer, Die Odyssée (4 parts first perf. in Dresden: Kirke, Jan. 24, 1898; Nausikaa, March 20, 1901; Odysseus’ Heimkehr, Dec. 12, 1896; Odysses’ Tod, Oct. 30, 1903). The companion to this Wagnerian- inspired effort, Die Ilias, never appeared. He also wrote a comic opera, Die Studenten von Salamanka (Leipzig, 1884), a mystery play, Warum? woher? wohin? (1908), incidental music to Goethe’s Faust, orch. works, including Zeppelins erste grosse Fahrt (Koblenz, Dec. 1, 1909), Symphonia Victrix, Tasso, Hohes Lied der Liebe, and Auf der Wartburg, choral pieces, songs, a Piano Quartet, and piano pieces.

Bibliography

M. Chop, A. B.: Ein deutscher Dichterkomponist (Berlin, 1916).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire