Charles Bruck
Encyclopedia
Charles Bruck was a Hungarian
-French
conductor
.
Bruck was born in Temesvár, Kingdom of Hungary
, Austro-Hungarian Empire, since 1920 Timişoara
, since 1920 in Romania
.
He left Romania in 1928 for a year of studies in Vienna, then travelled on to Paris. There he studied with Alfred Cortot, Nadia Boulanger and Vlado Perlmutter at the Ecole Normale de Musique. In 1934 he began studies with French conductor Pierre Monteux
, following him to San Francisco where Bruck served as Monteux's assistant.
After the Second World War, Bruck assumed chief conductor positions with the Orchestra of the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam (1950-1954), the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg (1955-1965), and the Orchestre Philharmonique de l'ORTF in Paris (1965-1970). In 1969, he succeeded Monteux as director of his conducting school in Maine, a post he held for twenty-six years until his death there in 1995.
He was a champion of contemporary music and presented hundreds of world premieres in his career. He also taught at The Hartt School of Music where he served as Director of Orchestral Activities. He was a visiting professor at Princeton University in 1992.
Bruck died in Hancock
, Maine
, USA
. A play about his career as Master of the Pierre Monteux School, called MUSE of FIRE, written by David Katz, one of his students, was premiered in Maine in 2005 and has since toured extensively.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
-French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
.
Bruck was born in Temesvár, Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, Austro-Hungarian Empire, since 1920 Timişoara
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
, since 1920 in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
.
He left Romania in 1928 for a year of studies in Vienna, then travelled on to Paris. There he studied with Alfred Cortot, Nadia Boulanger and Vlado Perlmutter at the Ecole Normale de Musique. In 1934 he began studies with French conductor Pierre Monteux
Pierre Monteux
Pierre Monteux was an orchestra conductor. Born in Paris, France, Monteux later became an American citizen.-Life and career:Monteux was born in Paris in 1875. His family was descended from Sephardi Jews who came to France in the wake of the Spanish Inquisition. He studied violin from an early age,...
, following him to San Francisco where Bruck served as Monteux's assistant.
After the Second World War, Bruck assumed chief conductor positions with the Orchestra of the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam (1950-1954), the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg (1955-1965), and the Orchestre Philharmonique de l'ORTF in Paris (1965-1970). In 1969, he succeeded Monteux as director of his conducting school in Maine, a post he held for twenty-six years until his death there in 1995.
He was a champion of contemporary music and presented hundreds of world premieres in his career. He also taught at The Hartt School of Music where he served as Director of Orchestral Activities. He was a visiting professor at Princeton University in 1992.
Bruck died in Hancock
Hancock, Maine
Hancock is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,147 at the 2000 census. Located on the mainland at the head of Frenchman Bay, Hancock has commanding views of Mount Desert Island.-History:...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. A play about his career as Master of the Pierre Monteux School, called MUSE of FIRE, written by David Katz, one of his students, was premiered in Maine in 2005 and has since toured extensively.