Bernard Green

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Bernard Grün (later: Bernard Grun , born February 11, 1901 in Startsch / Moravia , today Stařeč , Czech Republic , † December 28, 1972 in London ) was an Austro-British composer, conductor and publicist.

Life

Born in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, Grün studied law and philosophy (both graduated) and music theory (under Alban Berg , Felix von Weingartner and Egon Wellesz ) in Vienna and Prague . In 1930 he made a name for himself for the first time with a stage work he had composed himself: Bohemian Musicians was the name of the Singspiel in 3 acts, which was premiered in Vienna . This was followed by the operettas Marlene's Brautfahrt (1933) and Gaby (1936) as well as work arrangements and conducting in Berlin, Prague and Vienna, until the annexation of Austria by National Socialist Germany made it impossible to remain in the German-speaking area. Bernard Grün emigrated to England in 1935 and called himself Bernard Grun from then on.

In exile he continued to compose and arrange. Eventually he was appointed musical director at His Majesty's Theater in London. He contributed some songs to the operetta Old Chelsea , composed by Richard Tauber and premiered in London with the great tenor . He adapted several German-language works for the British audience, such as Ralph Benatzky's Im Weißen Rößl (under the name White Horse Inn ) and Karl Millöcker's Die Dubarry . According to information from his German publisher Langen Müller , Bernard Grun created a total of twenty-six operettas and fifty film scores.

Nevertheless, music journalism came more and more to the fore. Grun wrote in English, and many of his works were later translated into German. First with a total of four books full of musicians' anecdotes, then with his cultural history of operetta, which has become a standard work (title: The Light Muse ), he made a name for himself as a music historian. Bernard Grun described the life, time and melodies of Oscar Straus under the title Prince of Vienna . The novel The Golden Quill is about the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . And he wrote the book Gold und Silber about the life of Franz Lehár . His last publication was the publication of Alban Berg's letters to his wife, which he translated and commented on for the English audience.

Bernard Grun was married to the London fashion illustrator Edith Hart.

Operettas

Filmography

  • 1932: A car and no money (as Bernard Grün), directed by Jacob Fleck , Luise Fleck
  • 1939: Magyar Melody . Film from a performance at Her Majesty's Theater , London. Music by Bernard Grun and George Posford
  • 1947: White Cradle Inn , directed by Harold French
  • 1948: The Blind Goddess . Directed by Harold French
  • 1948: Brass Monkey . Director: Thornton Freeland

Fonts

  • Prince of Vienna. The life, the times and the melodies of Oscar Straus , London, WH Allen 1955
  • The golden quill pen. A Mozart novel , Wiesbaden, Rheinische Verlags-Anstalt 1957
  • Viewed through the clef. Musician anecdotes , Langen Müller 1959
  • Major and minor. Musician anecdotes , Munich, Langen Müller 1960
  • Fanny beloved (via Fanny Elssler), London, WH Allen 1960
  • The light muse. Cultural history of the operetta , Munich, Langen Müller 1961
  • Piano and Forte. Musicians anecdotes , Munich, Langen Müller 1965
  • All the fun in the world. The cultural history of laughter , Munich, Langen Müller 1966
  • Invitation to Venice , Munich, Langen Müller 1967
  • With timpani and trumpets. Musician anecdotes , Munich, Langen Müller 1968
  • Gold and silver. Franz Lehár and his world , Munich, Langen Müller 1970
  • Letters to his wife / Alban Berg . Edited, translated and commented on by Bernard Grun, London, Faber and Faber 1971.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Monika Kornberger: Green, Bernhard. In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 2, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-7001-3044-9 .
  2. ↑ Bernard Grun, Composer, Dies. In: Sarasota Herald-Tribune. December 29, 1972, p. 2 , accessed on September 9, 2019 .
  3. ^ Werner Röder: Biographical Handbook of German-Speaking Emigration after 1933. Vol.II, Saur, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-598-10089-2 .
  4. ↑ Cover text of the book by Bernard Grun: Gold und Silber. Langen Müller Verlag, Munich
personal data
SURNAME Green, Bernard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Green, Bernard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austro-British composer, conductor and publicist
DATE OF BIRTH February 11, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Startsch / Moravia, today Stařeč, Czech Republic
DATE OF DEATH December 28, 1972
Place of death London