Charles Munch

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Charles Münch on Hungarian radio, 1966, Budapest
Memorial plaque for Charles Münch in Louveciennes (Yvelines, France).

Charles Münch (also: Charles Munch) (born September 26, 1891 in Strasbourg , German Empire , † November 6, 1968 in Richmond , Virginia ) was a French conductor of Alsatian descent.

Life

Charles Münch was the son of the Alsatian organist and choir director Ernst Münch . He studied violin at the Strasbourg Conservatory and in 1912 with Lucien Capet in Paris. One of his teachers at the Strasbourg Conservatory was Hans Pfitzner .

When the First World War broke out , he was drafted into the German Army as an artillery sergeant . He suffered gas poisoning near Péronne and a gunshot wound at the Battle of Verdun . After the war he returned to Alsace and became a French citizen.

After further studies with Carl Flesch in Berlin, Charles Münch pursued a solo career and taught violin at the Strasbourg Conservatory (1919) and then at the Leipzig Conservatory . From 1926 he was concertmaster of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra . In November 1932 he made his debut as a conductor in Paris with the Orchester Straram. It was only when he married the granddaughter of one of the founders of the Nestlé Group in 1933 that he was able to finance his further career.

From 1933 to 1940 he trained in conducting with Alfred Szendrei in Paris. From 1935 to 1938 he was conductor of the Orchester de la Société Philharmonique founded by Alfred Cortot in Paris and in 1936 he received a position as a teacher at the École Normale de Musique de Paris . In 1938 he was appointed director of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris and kept this post during the German occupation in World War II . Since he refused to work with the National Socialists and instead supported the Resistance , he received the Order of the Legion of Honor in 1945 .

Münch made his US debut as a guest conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in December 1946. In 1948 he toured the USA with the Orchester de la Radio nationale de France and in 1949 he was appointed music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with which he and Pierre Monteux undertook a first European tour in 1952. In 1950 Münch was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . 1956 followed another tour through Europe and the Soviet Union. In 1962 Charles Münch retired from his post in Boston and was henceforth a guest conductor. In 1967 he was also involved in founding the Orchester de Paris . He died in Richmond in 1968 while touring America with the Orchester de Paris.

Münch gained recognition as an interpreter of the French repertoire. His performances were characterized by spontaneity, color and elegance. The French music of the 20th century occupied a prominent place in his programs. He performed new works by Albert Roussel , Darius Milhaud , Arthur Honegger and others. During his time in Paris he introduced new works to the programs of the Lamoureux Orchestra , the Shihoan Concerts and the Straram Concerts.

He wrote the work Je suis chef d'orchestre (1954).

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Münch, Charles
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Munch, Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French conductor
DATE OF BIRTH September 26, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Strasbourg
DATE OF DEATH November 6, 1968
Place of death Richmond, Virginia