Born in Cologne, Jan 6, 1838
Died in Friedenau, Berlin, Oct 2, 1920
- Max Bruch’s first music lessons were given by his mother, an accomplished pianist and singer. He first began composing around age nine, and by 14, he was awarded the Frankfurt Mozart Scholarship, enabling Bruch to travel around Germany and study with distinguished composers.
- One of these distinguished mentors was Ferdinand Hiller, a close friend of Felix Mendelssohn. Hiller strongly influenced Bruch’s inclination for conservative musical language – the young composer idolized both Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann.
- As a composer, Bruch ardently embraced Romantic musical language cultivated by his predecessors and rejected more progressive ideas, as seen in the music of Liszt and Wagner.
- Bruch was a folk music enthusiast and drew upon an eclectic range of traditional tunes, including Russian, Swedish, and Scottish (ex: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46).
- In all his works, Bruch’s compositional superpower was his ability to write stunningly beautiful melodies.
- Fun fact – Bruch strongly disliked the piano and preferred to write for string instruments (most famous, the violin).
- Much to his chagrin, Bruch became a “one-hit-wonder” of sorts during his lifetime due to the colossal success of his first violin concerto.1
Learn More
Biography from Interlude
Short biography from Britannica