Back to Switzerland this for the music of Robert Blum as performed by The Beromünster Radio Orchestra conducted by Robert Blum – the recording was made at Radio Zurich on December 10, 1951. The featured work is Blum’s Die Erzählung des letzen Hirten composed in 1951 of which this is possibly the world premier recording.
Robert Blum was born in Zurich where he later studied under the tutelage of Friedrich Hegar’s successor as the conductor of the Tonhalle Orchestra Volkmar Andreae, and Busoni-Schüler Philipp Jarnach. Following the First Word War, Blum continued his musical education under the tutelage of Ferruccio Busoni in Berlin. His school friends included Wladimir Vogel and Kurt Weill. On returning to Switzerland he worked as a conductor for various choirs and orchestras and turned his hand to teaching a little later on in his career. Blum greatly influenced the Swiss music scene over a period of many years. He was a founding member of Pro Musica, Zurich’s regional group of the Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM). In 1935 he founded the Madrigal Choir of Zurich with whom he performed several of Händel’s oratorios as Swiss premieres. With Blum on the podium, the Madrigal Choir’s world premiere of Frank Martin’s “Le vin herbé” assisted the composer in his first great success. It was also Blum who discovered the young Ernst Haefliger. After 1943, Blum spent the next thirty years working as a teacher of composition at the music academy, training several generations of Swiss composers.
Blum’s compositional oevre includes all genres from opera to chamber music set for various instruments. He is, however, best-known for his film music, despite his view that this musical genre was an avocation. Robert Blum wrote the music for almost all of the big films from the 40s and 50s including ‘Uli der Pächter’, ‘Heidi’ and ‘Wachtmeister Studer’.
Blum died in Bellikion in October 1994.
Enjoy.
