Lang, Walter

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Lang, Walter

Lang, Walter, Swiss pianist, conductor, teacher, and composer; b. Basel, Aug. 19, 1896; d. Baden, Aargau canton, March 17, 1966. He was a pupil of Jaques Dalcroze in Hellerau and Geneva. After teaching at the Jaques-Dalcroze Inst, in Geneva, he completed his studies with Klose in Munich and with Andreae and W. Frey in Zürich. He then was active as a pianist and conductor; he also taught in Basel and Bern, serving as well as prof, of piano at the Zürich Cons. (1922–1) and Academy of Music (1949–64). His wife was the soprano Mimi Lang-Seiber.

Works

orch.:Scherzo fugato for Strings (1929); Sonata festiva for Chamber Orch. (1935); Piano Concerto (1940); Fantasie for Violin, Cello, and Orch. (1941); Sym. (1946); Jour de Fete, overture (1947); Cello Concerto (1951); Konzertante Suite for 2 Pianos and Strings (1954); Divertimento for Strings (1957). chamber: String Quartet (1919); 2 violin sonatas (1920, 1939); Piano Trio (1925); Flute Sonata (1956); many piano pieces.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire