Kunz, Ernst

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Kunz, Ernst

Kunz, Ernst, Swiss conductor and composer; b. Bern, June 2, 1891; d. Olten, Feb. 7, 1980. He went to Munich to study at the Univ. and with Klose and Kellermann at the Academy of Music. After conducting at the Bavarian Court Opera (1916–18), he pursued his career in his homeland. He wrote in a neo-Romantic style principally influenced by Richard Strauss and Pfitzner.

Works

dramatic: Opera: Der Fächer (1924; Zürich, 1929); Vreneli ab em Guggisberg (1935); Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten (1937); Der Traum ein Leben (1968). Singspie 1: Die Hochzeitsreise (1960). orch.: 5 syms.: (1917, 1921, 1942, 1965, 1966); Viola Concerto (1952); Drei Lebensalter (1964); Serenata strana (1971); Chamber Concerto for Flute, Piano, and Strings (1971). chamber: 3 string quartets; Piano Quartet; piano pieces. vocal:oratorios:Vom irdischen Leben (1931–49); Weihnachts Oratorium (1936); Weisheit des Herzens (1946); Einkehr (1951); Psalter und Harfe (1956). other: Over 500 choruses; song cycles.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire