Jan Brandts-Buys

Jan Brandts -Buys ( born September 12, 1868 in Zutphen, The Netherlands, † December 7, 1933 in Salzburg ) was a Dutch composer.

Life

Jan Willem Frans Brandts Buys (his full name, in his home the family name is written without the hyphen ) was born into a very musical family. Several of his ancestors had been organist and composer (especially of Protestant church music). His father Marius Adrianus held various musical posts in Zutphen. So it was inevitable that even the very talented Feb - he was just 13 years old! - His first job as organist at the " Broederenkerk " found in Zutphen, but he improvised rather on the larger bathrooms organ in the Walpurgiskirche. Soon he began to compose piano pieces, songs and chamber music.

In his house Zaadmarkt 98a regularly went from musical guests and a. He also maintained a lively exchange of letters, among other things, with Henryk Wieniawski, Anton Rubinstein and Edvard Grieg. So he learned the works of the great masters of his time to know.

In 1889 he began to study music at the Raff Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main. Three years later he continued his studies in Vienna. There he met with Johannes Brahms. Brahms recognized his talent for dramatic works and advised him to compose operas. Brandts Buys followed the advice and should not regret it: his oeuvre comprises a large proportion of the most serene light operas. His most famous was The Tailor of Schönau, which had its premiere on April 1, 1916 at the Dresden Court Opera and started its triumphal march from here to the world.

In 1928 Brandts Buys his residence in Salzburg, where many of his concert works had their world premiere. He also composed the Salzburger Serenade. On December 8, 1933, he died in his adopted home. The city built him an honorary grave of the "Group 115 " at the Salzburg municipal cemetery.

Works (selection)

Operas

• The violet solid (1909, Berlin)
• The Carillon (1913, Dresden)
• The Tailor of Schönau (1916, Dresden)
• The Conqueror (1918, Dresden)
• Micarême (1919, Vienna)
• The Man in the Moon (1922, Dresden)
• Dreamland (1927, Dresden)

Instrumental works

• Piano Concerto, Op 15
• Romantic Serenade for String Quartet (Op. 25)
• Works for piano, organ, orchestra, songs, choruses and cantatas