Boris Mersson

Boris Mersson (born October 6, 1921 in Berlin ; † November 13, 2013 near Zurich ) was a Swiss composer and pianist .

As a polyvalent musician, Boris Mersson was active as a soloist, conductor, teacher and composer. Piano and chamber music concerts have taken him to many cities in Switzerland, Europe, the United States of America and Brazil . As a conductor he worked in Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy and Germany. As a composer he has received numerous prizes and awards at home and abroad. He used the pseudonym Eddy Mers for publications in the field of pop music.

biography

At the age of five he received piano and violin lessons. He performed publicly for the first time when he was ten. He studied piano with Isidore Karr in Geneva and at the Lausanne Conservatory with Henri Stierlin-Vallon. He studied conducting with Hermann Scherchen in Zurich and with Herbert von Karajan in Lucerne .

Boris Mersson's compositions - many of them were specially commissioned, including by the Tonhalle Society Zurich - bear witness to his familiarity with the musical possibilities of expression of all genres, including the music of the “Third Stream”.

As far as the educational field is concerned, which Boris Mersson has increasingly devoted himself to since the early 1970s, his work as a lecturer for piano, improvisation and reading at the Zurich Cantonal School and at the Zurich University of Music and Drama should be mentioned, where he also artists like Daniel Schnyder and Philippe Jordan , who would later achieve world fame, was a stimulating mentor. At the same time, Boris Mersson was able to maintain his presence on the concert stage as a soloist and chamber musician.

As a pianist and orchestra director, Boris Mersson published numerous long-playing records in the field of pop music under his pseudonym Eddy Mers, especially in the 1960s, which were also sold throughout Europe under English titles. Well-known albums were, for example, Popular Film Schlager , Greatest TV Themes For Dancing , Vienna, Vienna only you alone , Operetta Dance Party in Beat or The Best Of Cole Porter .

Mersson was a member of the Zurich Masonic Lodge "Modestia cum Libertate".

Works

Works for orchestra

• 1937–1938 / 1950 5 pieces brèves pour petit orchester opus 1
• 1948 Concerto da camera opus 6 (1948)
  1. Prologue et Offrande
  2. scherzo
  3. Présage
  4. Final
• 1948/1970 Sinfonietta per orchestra opus 6
  1. Allegro deciso
  2. Scherzo, Allegro vivace
  3. Adagio assai
  4. Finale, Allegro giusto
• 1952 Danse pour Hérode et Mariamne d'après Friedrich Hebbel for orchestra and string quintet, opus 9
• 1955 Piccolo divertimento en trois mouvements pour flûte, accordeon, piano et orchester à cordes, opus 12
  1. Allegretto with moto
  2. Largo sostenuto
  3. Allegro moderato
• 1958–1962 Spiel der Komödianten opus 21b, for large orchestra
• 1963 Episodes esotériques - Esoteric episodes for celesta and string orchestra, opus 22
  1. Allegro
  2. Andante con moto
  3. Allegro
• 1964 Gitan Rhapsody opus 22b, pour violon et orchester
• 1966 Concerto for alto saxophone and orchestra - Concerto pour saxophone-alto et orchester opus 25, 1st version for symphony orchestra
• 1966 Terpsichore (Suite) opus 5f, for orchestra
  1. Rigaudon
  2. Elegy
  3. Danse profane
• 1968–1969 Concerto per pianoforte e orchestra opus 29. 2nd version for symphony orchestra
  1. Allegro con brio
  2. Molto tranquillo e sognando
  3. Vivace, ma non troppo presto - Toccata
• 1968 Der Spiegel opus 30 for large orchestra
• 1994 Small serenade for strings . opus 52
  1. Allegro giocoso non troppo svelto
  2. Molto moderato e con tenerezza
  3. Allegretto piacevole
  4. Allegro
• 1997 Pastorale for flute (s), piano and small orchestra (flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, horn, trumpet, violin 1, violin 2, viola, violoncello, double bass), opus 54

Works for wind orchestra

• 1966 Fluidum opus 26, 2nd version (wind instruments) (piccolo / flute, english horn, clarinet / alto saxophone, tenor saxophone / bass clarinet, baritone saxophone trumpet 1, trumpet 2, trombone / vibraphone, harp, electronic organ, Percussion, double bass)
  1. Prelude
  2. Interlude
  3. Postlude
• 1966 Concerto for alto saxophone and wind orchestra - Concerto pour saxophone alto et orchester d'harmonie opus 25, 2nd version for wind orchestra
• 1968–1969 Concerto for piano and wind orchestra opus 29, 1st version for wind orchestra
  1. Allegro con brio
  2. Molto tranquillo e sognando
  3. Vivace, ma non troppo presto - Toccata
• 1985 Windspiele Overture for symphonic wind orchestra, opus 45
• 1990 D'un soleil à l'autre poème symphonique pour grand orchester d'instruments à vent, opus 48
• 1990 Serenade "... ... fun for no reason, so to speak" for soprano, wind ensemble, violoncello, double bass and crotals, opus 49 - based on a poem by Mascha Kaléko
• The Devil and the Dear God - Le diable et le bon Dieu Incidental music for the piece by Jean-Paul Sartre for flute, clarinet, bassoon (or trombone), 2 trumpets, timpani, percussion, violin

Works for chamber music

• 1946 Divertissement opus 4, pour quatuor à vent (oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn)
• 1947 Capricciosa opus 5d, for oboe and strings
• 1949 Fantasia opus 7, for bassoon, strings and harp
• 1949–1950 Nocturne opus 8, for violin and piano
• 1952 Danse pour Herode et Marianne 1st version for 6 wind instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, trumpet tuba), timpani, percussion and piano
• 1952–1953 Petite suite pour flûte, hautbois et piano, opus 10
• 1955–1963 Divertimento pour 6 instruments à vent, 2 percussions, clavecin ou piano et cordes
• 1956 Étude rhythmique opus 13, pour trio de jazz et quatuor à cordes
• 1956 Caprice pour hautbois et piano, opus 14
• 1958 Sonata opus 16, pour clarinette et piano
  1. Allegro moderato
  2. Andante sostenuto
  3. Allegro brilliant
• 1959–1960 Suite opus 17, pour 4 saxophones
• 1960 Three Monkey Dances opus 19, for oboe and piano (or clarinet and piano)
  1. Grimaces
  2. Around the cage
  3. Golliwogg goes to town
• 1960 Music for wind quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon in three movements, opus 20
  1. Conversation
  2. Meditation
  3. Soliloque
• 1964 Sound of seven , opus 24, for oboe, 4 saxophones, double bass and drums
• 1966 Fluidum , opus 26, 1st version (sextet) for piccolo, flute, cor anglais, viola, cello and drums
• 1966 Hommage à Schoenberg , opus 27, for piccolo, flute, cor anglais, viola, cello and percussion
• 1967–1968 Pieces provençales pour deux clarinettes et basson (ou clarinette-basse, ou cor de basset)
  1. Pastourelle
  2. ballad
  3. Farandole
• 1968–1969 Quattro Improvvisazioni , opus 28, for piano, violin and violoncello
• 1970 Divertimento in sol maggiore pour quintette à vent
• 1971 Variations in E flat major on the theme "Brothers reach out to the bunch" after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for violin, cello and piano
• 1979 Fantasia per sassofono alto e pianoforte , opus 37
• 1994 Molnaresca small suite in three movements for horn and piano, opus 53
  1. parade
  2. idyll
  3. Cupidon
• Undine incidental music based on Jean Giraudoux for flute, trumpet 1, trumpet 2, trumpet 3, harp, violin

Works for piano

• 1933/1936 Introduction et Saltarella pour piano
• 1938 Cinq impressions burlesques pour piano
  1. Sonia et le miroir
  2. Colin-Maillard
  3. Arc-en-ciel
  4. Polichinelle et burlesque
  5. Casse-noisette
• 1970–1977 Five piano pieces opus 23
  1. Capricciosa
  2. Sogno
  3. Invention SCHiBIEr
  4. Intermezzo tenero
  5. impromptu
• 1973 «Jeux fantasques» pieces pour le piano, opus 32
  1. Jeux de mains
  2. Jeux de vilains
  3. Toccata
• 2007 “Regards perdus” prelude pour la main gauche, opus 60

Works for guitar

• 1983 Alcibiade-Suite pour guitare, opus 42
  1. Meditation
  2. Burlesca
  3. Solitude
  4. Piccolo capriccio
  5. Esquisse sul nome BACH
  6. Danza

Works for violin

• 1984 Bravour Variations on the theme "Brothers, reach out your hand to the bunch" for solo violin

Individual evidence

1. ^ Report in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung from November 18, 2013.
2. ↑ Axel Schniederjürgen (ed.): Kürschner's Musicians Handbook. 2006, p. 305.
3. ↑ The Sinfonietta per orchestra 1970 emerged from the Concerto da camera from 1948 .