Neglected Swiss Composers

[Dundonnell]

I suppose that if people were asked to identify famous Swiss composers they would mention Ernest Bloch, Arthur Honegger and, hopefully, Frank Martin as the greatest three. All three of these composers however spent a substantial part of their lives abroad(Bloch in the USA, Honegger in France and Martin in the Netherlands).

Of those who remained based in Switzerland some attention has been paid in recent years to Othmar Schoeck-although he is hardly a household name. There are threads on here about Hans Huber, Hermann Suter and Fritz Brun but I would like to highlight three other Swiss composers who need more exposure.

I am listening as I write to the cd of a big Oratorio "Das Gesicht Jesajas"(1935)  by Willy Burkhard(1900-1955). It is a highly impressive, powerful work of great integrity and conviction. It does make me want to hear more Burkhard. In a life dogged by persistant ill-health Burkhard wrote a number of substantial choral works, including a Te Deum, a Mass, the Oratorio "Das Jahr" and a number of Cantatas. The music is severe, Germanic, influenced by composers like Hindemith, inclined to bitonality.

Conrad Beck(1901-89) is a similar sort of composer to Burkhard, at least in terms of style, but wrote much more purely orchestral music, including seven symphonies and a number of concertos. His third symphony was performed by Koussevitsky in Boston and his music was also conducted in the US by Stokowski. In the famous Pelican "European Music in the Twentieth Century" Iain Hamilton devoted two pages to praising Beck's music. There are also a number of big choral works.

Heinrich Sutermeister(1910-95) wears a somewhat lighter complexion. His Opera "Romeo and Juliet" enjoyed enormous success for a time in European opera-houses. Sutermeister wrote two piano concertos but I know him through his very fine Requiem Mass(1953) and Te Deum(1975). He is sometimes-a bit misleadingly in my opinion-compared with Carl Orff in Germany.

I know that there has been a thread here about Hermann Suter, who is, of course, from an earlier generation(1870-1926) but I would like to add my enthusiastic recommendation of his marvellous Oratorio "Le Laudi di San Francesco d'Assisi"(1923).

These are four very distinguished Swiss composers whose music should be much better-known. Perhaps what is needed is a Swiss BIS or Dux producing cds of Swiss music and making these more readily available in other countries?

[Ilja]

I would think that among 'famous' Swiss composers, Raff would feature above Martin...

[Alan Howe]

Although born in Switzerland, Raff actually held Württembergian citizenship, so I don't really think he counts...

[Mark Thomas]

You beat me to it, Alan!

Raff was indeed born and lived the first 23 years of his life in Switzerland and his mother was Swiss, but his father was German, a citizen of the Kingdom of Württemberg. Raff inherited his citizenship and held a Württemberg passport, as his daughter makes clear in her biography of him.

That said, in my book Raff was certainly the greatest composer to have been born in Switzerland, Martin, Bloch and Honegger not excepted.

[kolaboy]

I would think that Constantin Regamey would qualify as both Swiss, and unsung. His cantata "Alpha" is a gem.

[eschiss1]

Know relatively little (or nothing) by but could mention Volkmar Andreae, Jelmoli, and some others. (Ernst Levy I've at least heard something by now )
The Gallo label, to judge from a very interesting-seeming listing of their releases in an older Albany catalog, has or had a substantial collection of issues by Swiss composers, of variable quality I'd assume (some probably quite good, some neutral, ...) - whose reputations not only haven't crossed that border but perhaps hasn't even spread much within it (am not Swiss so couldn't say.)
(I rate Martin very highly, myself, for quality and kaleidoscopic imagination, but can hardly expect everyone else to agree with me, at least until my plans to become ... hush hush)

Edit: Gallo, of course, is French. I was misremembering. Found the Albany 1994 catalog; I meant the label Grammont, with its CDs of music by Daetwyler, Veress (ok, Veress I have heard of), Balissat, Delz, Gaudibert, Regamey (mentioned here), Zbinden, Geiser, Klaus Huber (actually, fairly well-known "in some circles" I gather), Jost Meier (have not heard but seen reviews of CDs of, e.g. a disc coupling, I think, his violin concerto with Martin's), pianist Dünki (who I know as the fine pianist on a Reger recording on Jecklin, a label Albany also carried which also had a number of Swiss composers - from more centuries - though more interspersed ...; playing his own works...) -
anyway! (Hrm. I forget what country Schoeck is considered as being from, at that.)

[Dundonnell]

You beat me to it, Alan!

Raff was indeed born and lived the first 23 years of his life in Switzerland and his mother was Swiss, but his father was German, a citizen of the Kingdom of Württemberg. Raff inherited his citizenship and held a Württemberg passport, as his daughter makes clear in her biography of him.

That said, in my book Raff was certainly the greatest composer to have been born in Switzerland, Martin, Bloch and Honegger not excepted.

I certainly did not intend to offer comparative evaluations of the respective merits of particular Swiss composers, merely to instance and highlight three(or four, if we include Suter) whose music is, in my opinion, insufficiently heard and appreciated.

There are, of course, many others from both before 1900 and from after the decades when these composers were most active.

[Jonathan]

I know we've discussed him on other threads before but what about Hans Huber?  The Sterling CDs of the symphonies have helped make his music available to a wider listening audience but there is still a vast amount of his output that isn't known or recorded (I must get all of them at some point). 
Another recording I especially like is of his Preludes and Fugues, Op.100 for 4 hands on the Pan Classics label.

[Alan Howe]

For me, Huber is a very variable composer. The symphonies just don't cut it - the boredom factor soon sets in. But what I have heard of his chamber music is quite different. The lovely late-ish Violin Sonatas on Guild (just released) are a case in point.

[Callipygian]

Hello there, fellow musicophiles,

I just discovered this community today and hope to contribute actively to it. I am no musicologist, professional performer or grand-scale music collector, but I do have a passion for classical music and have increasingly found joy in discovering the hidden gems, in particular those in the former USSR.

Ok, to get to the topic: I'm surprised some rather famous names, such as Schultess and Freund, are not mentioned yet. In particular, I would like to add Emil Frey (1889-1946): his Scriabinesque piano music is definitely worth listening to.

There is a pretty good Guild cd with some of his works and one other cd with his piano music, although it contains only a selection of movements of various of his suites and sonatas, offering few complete works. Fyrexianoff's youtube channel (a real treat for those looking for unsung composers, especially from the former USSR!) contains three movements from his fourth suite and Luisa Splett, a very interesting Swiss pianist who is also graduating on the works of Emil Frey, actively champions music from her native country and has some recordings of Frey pieces available on her youtube channel.

If anyone can find the complete suites or his second piano sonata, please let me know. I would be very interested!

[eschiss1]

Only discovered Schultess (Schulthess -- 1894-1971 ?)? recently myself when looking for music to upload to imslp.org (see Serenade in B-flat opus 9 published 1921- not to be confused with the serenade opus 6 in E for string trio.) I see there's some other works of his on CD, yes (incl. his variations op1 on Guild. Also on IMSLP we have two works by Emil Frey- sonatas for violin (op.22 in D, 1909?, pub.1922) and for cello (no.1 op.8 in B major/minor).

[Callipygian]

Levy seems an interesting composer. There is a fragment of his sonata for violin and piano on youtube, as is a recording of his complete soliloquy for solo clarinet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU8ydjjRZ6c). Apparently, one of the reasons he is rarely performed is that you need to pay a license fee to play his works 

However, I think he is mainly interesting as an almost forgotten brilliant pianist. His renditions of the late Beethoven sonatas, Liszt works and late Brahms piano music are astounding. Check out his interpretation of Beethoven op. 111: such raw power and meditative arietta, wonderful! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on-homMkizE)