Hermann Scherchen

about

Hermann Scherchen (June 21, 1891 – June 12, 1966) was a German conductor. Born in Berlin, he was originally a violist and played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens. He conducted in Riga from 1914 to 1916 and in Königsberg from 1928 to 1933, after which he left Germany in protest at the Nazi regime and worked in Switzerland. Along with the philanthropist Werner Reinhart, Scherchen played a leading role in shaping the musical life of Winterthur for many years, with numerous premiere performances, the emphasis being placed on contemporary music.[1] Making his debut with Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, he was a champion of 20th century composers such as Richard Strauss, Webern, Berg and Varèse, and actively promoted the work of younger contemporary composers including Iannis Xenakis and Luigi Nono. He was the teacher of Karl Amadeus Hartmann, and contributed to the libretto of Hartmann's opera Simplicius Simplicissimus. The conductor Francis Travis was a pupil, then conducting assistant, for five years. He is probably best known for his orchestral arrangement (and recording) of Johann Sebastian Bach's The Art of Fugue. Another notable achievement is his 1958 recording of Beethoven's Eroica symphony for the Westminster label (subsequently reissued on compact disc), containing what is still (as of 2006) the fastest first movement ever recorded and the closest to Beethoven's own, problematic, metronome mark. [2] [3] His 1953 "Lehrbuch des

top songs

albums

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Vivaldi - The Four Seasons

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Symphonies n°1 et n°2

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Classic Symphonies: The Haydn Collection

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Edgar Varese

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Ludwig Van Beethoven : 9 Symphonies

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Hermann Scherchen: Great Conductors of the 20th Century

Mozart: Requiem

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Scherchen: 78 RPM Recordings, Vol. 2 – Zurich

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Ludwig van Beethoven: 9 Symphonies

The 1950s Haydn Symphonies Recordings

Concertos For Trumpet

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Concerti for 1, 2, 3 and 6 Trumpets

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