Herbert Brün

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Herbert Brün (born July 9, 1918 in Berlin ; † November 6, 2000 in Urbana , Illinois ) was a German-American music theorist and composer who made a significant contribution to the theory of the synthesis of music.

Life

Brün grew up in Berlin, where he met Walter Levin through his parents , who later became the leader of the LaSalle string quartet , with whom he was a lifelong friend. In 1936 he first emigrated to Palestine , where he studied piano and composition at the Jerusalem Conservatory. From 1948 to 1950 he completed his studies in the United States . Following an invitation from Lejaren Hiller , he finally took over a chair at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1962 and henceforth headed the studio for electronic music there.

He dealt intensively with the systems theory that emerged in the 1940s and 1950s and the associated development of the first powerful computers . In addition, he tried to categorize the music and to characterize and break down its elements under the premise of a harmonious idea. One of his composers who were widely regarded was Gustav Mahler . He tried to implement the system-theoretical basic ideas in music and contributed to the theoretical approach of linking music and information. It was his concern to investigate the nature of music and its effect on the state of mind of people not only on the basis of medical psychology. Because of these components, he was one of the pioneers in the synthesis of electronic music and thus also made an essential contribution to the theory of music.

He drew the opportunity and idea for this from the more powerful computers that were emerging during this period and their importance for information and thus also for music. He wrote and worked on the relationship between music and computers and is therefore considered a pioneer of computer art, which is to be understood as part of the visual arts. The idea of ​​mathematical synthesis of geometric objects by means of development blocks on the computer's output screen allowed him to create many such images.

Around 1960 he produced several radio programs that presented unique scientific documents on his work.

In 2001 he was posthumously awarded the SEAMUS Lifetime Achievement Award .

Works (selection)

  • Five Pieces for piano op. 1 (1940–45)
  • Sonatina for viola solo op.12 (1950)
  • String Quartet No. 2 (1957)
  • Anepigraphe (1958) (tape)
  • Sounds on the move (1962) (tape)
  • Trio (1964)
  • Futility 1964 (tape)
  • Sonoriferous Loops (1964) (chamber ensemble and tape)
  • Infraudibles (1968/1984) (chamber ensemble and tape)
  • Piece of Prose (1972) (tape)
  • Dust (1976) (SAWDUST No. 1) (tape)
  • More Dust (1977) (SAWDUST No. 2) (percussion and tape)
  • Dustiny (1978) (SAWDUST No. 3) (tape)
  • A Mere Ripple (1979) (SAWDUST No. 4) (tape)
  • U-TURN-TO (1980) (SAWDUST No. 5) (tape)
  • I toLD YOU so! (1981) (SAWDUST No. 6) (tape)
  • Sentences Now Open Wide (SNOW) (1984)
  • on stilts among ducks (1996) (viola and tape)

Publications

  • The work of Gustav Mahler , eight-part lecture, Bayerischer Rundfunk 1960
  • Synthetic sound and sound synthesis , eight-part lecture, Bayerischer Rundfunk 1961
  • Music and information , eight-part lecture, Bayerischer Rundfunk 1961
  • About music and the computer , G. Braun Verlag, Karlsruhe 1971
  • When music resists meaning - the major writings of Herbert Brün , Wesleyan University Press, Middletown 2004

Web links


personal data
SURNAME Brün, Herbert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German music theorist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH July 9, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH November 6, 2000
Place of death Urbana, Illinois