Charles Münch
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Charles Münch (September 26, 1891 – November 6, 1968) was a French conductor and violinist.
Münch was the fifth in a family of six children in Strasbourg (then in Germany, today in France). Although his first ambition was to be a locomotive engineer, he studied violin at the Strasbourg Conservatoire. His father Ernest was a professor of organ at the Conservatoire and performed at the cathedral. Ernest also also taught Charles, and directed an orchestra with his son in the second violins. After receiving his diploma in 1912, Charles studied with Carl Flesch in Berlin and Lucien Capet at the Conservatoire de Paris. He was conscripted into the Germany army in World War I, serving as a sergeant gunner. He was gassed at Péronne and wounded at Verdun.
In 1920 he became professor of the violin at the Strasbourg Conservatoire (with Strasbourg now a part of France) and assistant concertmaster at the Strasbourg Orchestra under Joseph Guy Ropartz who directed the conservatory. In the early 1920's he was concertmaster for Hermann Abendroth's Cologne Gürzenich Orchestra. He became concertmaster of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler and Bruno Walter from 1926 to 1933.
Münch made his conducting debut in Paris on November 1, 1932 at the age of 41. Munch's fiancée Geneviève Maury, granddaughter of a founder of the Nestlé Chocolate Company rented the hall and hired the Straram Orchestra. Following this success, he conducted the Concerts Siohan, the Lamoureux Orchestra, the new Orchestre Symphonique de Paris, the Biarritz Orchestra (Summer 1933), the Société Philharmonique de Paris (1935 to 1938), and the des Concerts du Conservatoire (1937. He became known as a Berlioz champion, and became friends with Arthur Honegger, Albert Roussel, and Francis Poulenc . During these years, Münch gave first performances of works by Arthur Honegger, Jean Roger-Ducasse, Joseph Guy Ropartz, Albert Roussel, and Florent Schmitt. He became director of the Société Philharmonique de Paris in 1938 and taught conducting at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1937 to 1945.
He remained in France conducting the Conservatoire de Paris Orchestra during the occupation, believing it best to try to maintain the morale of the French people. He refused conducting engagements in Germany, and also refused to perform contemporary German works. He protected members of his orchestra from the Gestapo, and also contributed his income to the French Resistance. For this, he received the Légion d'honneur with the red ribbon in 1945 and the title of Commandeur in 1952.
Munch made his début with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on December 27, 1946, and he became their principal conductor from 1949 to 1962. He became the first conductor to take them overseas. He excelled in the modern French repertoire, especially Debussy and Ravel, and was considered to be an authoritative performer of Berlioz. He led relaxed rehearsals which orchestra members appreciated after the more authoritarian Koussevitzky era. His thirteen year tenure in Boston included 39 world premieres, 17 American first performances, and offered audiences 168 contemporary works.
Munch returned to France and in 1963 became president of the École Normale de Musique. He was also named president of the Guilde Française des Artistes Solistes. In 1967, at the request of France’s Minister of Culture André Malraux he founded the first full-time salaried French orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, and conducted its first concert on November 14, 1967. He died of a heart attack suffered at his hotel in Richmond, Virginia the following year while on an American tour with his new orchestra. EMI recorded his final sessions (including Ravel's Piano Concerto in G), with this orchestra, and released them posthumously.
His discography (yet to be compiled) is extensive both in Boston (on RCA Victor) and at his European posts and guest conducting (on various labels, including EMI and Nonesuch). His first recording with the Boston Symphony, in Boston's Symphony Hall in February 1954, was devoted to a complete version of The Damnation of Faust by Hector Berlioz and was made simultaneously in monaural and stereophonic sound, although only the monaural version was issued for the full score.
Other highlights include (all with Boston unless otherwise noted, and with the year of the recording included):
- Georges Bizet’s Symphony with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1963)
- Vincent d'Indy’s Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français with the conductor’s niece Nicole Henriot-Schweitzer as the pianist (1958)
- Camille Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 with Berj Zamkochian as the organist (1959)
Among the final Boston recordings, made in 1962, were exceptional performances of Ernest Chausson's symphony and César Franck's tone poem Le Chasseur Maudit (The Accursed Hunter).
[edit] External links
- http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Munch-Charles.htm
- http://time-proxy.yaga.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,855069,00.html
| Preceded by Philippe Gaubert |
Principal Conductor, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire 1938–1946 |
Succeeded by André Cluytens |
| Preceded by Serge Koussevitzky |
Music Director, Boston Symphony Orchestra 1949–1962 |
Succeeded by Erich Leinsdorf |
| Preceded by Maurice Le Roux |
Principal Conductor, Orchestre National de France 1962–1968 |
Succeeded by Jean Martinon |
| Preceded by none |
Music Director, Orchestre de Paris 1967–1968 |
Succeeded by Herbert von Karajan |
