Walter Courvoisier

Walter Courvoisier (7 February 1875 – 27 December 1931) was a Swiss composer.

Life

Born in Riehen, Courvoisier was a son of the surgeon Ludwig Georg Courvoisier. He initially studied medicine and worked as a doctor after obtaining his doctorate. In 1902 he went to Munich to study music. He was a student of Selmar Bagge and Ludwig Thuille - whose son-in-law he became - and then taught at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, first music theory, and later music composition.

Courvoisier died in Locarno at the age of 66.

Compositions

Operas

• Lanzelot und Elaine, musical drama in four acts; libretto: Berta Thiersch, pseudonym "Walter Bergh" (1910–12, first performance Munich 1917)
• Die Krähen (The Crows), comedy in one act; libretto: Alois Wohlmuth (1919/20, first performance Munich 1920)
• Der Sünde Zauberei (The Sin of Magic), opera in one prelude and two scenes; libretto: Joseph von Eichendorff after Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1929, unperformed) online

Vocal works

• The Muse, for baritone and orchestra op. 4; after Heinrich Leuthold (1903)
• Gruppe aus dem Tartarus, ballad for mixed choir and orchestra Op. 5; after Friedrich Schiller (1904)
• Der Dinurstrom, ballad for mixed choir and orchestra op. 11; after Wilhelm Hertz (1906)
• Das Schlachtschiff Téméraire (1796), Ballad for male chorus and orchestra Op. 12; after Detlev von Liliencron (1906)
• Auferstehung (former title: Totenfeier), Cantata for four soloists, mixed choir and orchestra op. 26; after words of the Bible, arranged by Alfred Bertholet (1915)
• Three Choirs a cappella Op. 33; after Joseph von Eichendorff (1931)
• Five Songs for mixed choir a cappella Op. 34 (1931)

Lieder with piano accompaniment

• Sechs Lieder für tiefe Stimme op. 1 (1903)
• Sieben Lieder op. 2 (1903)
• Acht Gedichte von Anna Ritter op. 3 (1903)
• Sechs Lieder op. 6 (1904)
• Fünf Lieder für tiefe Stimme op. 7 (1904)
• Sieben Gedichte von Peter Cornelius op. 8 (1905)
• Sechs Gedichte von Theodor Storm op. 9 (1905)
• Zwei Gedichte von Theodor Storm, Vier Gedichte von Klaus Groth op. 13 (1906)
• Fünf Gedichte von Wilhelm Hertz op. 14 (1903/04)
• Drei Gedichte von Emanuel Geibel op. 15 (1906)
• Fünf Gedichte von Friedrich Hebbel op. 16 (1907/08)
• Fünf Gedichte von Peter Cornelius op. 17 (1908)
• Zwei Sonette von Michelangelo und altitalienisches Sonett op. 18 (1906/08)
• Sieben Gedichte von Emanuel Geibel op. 19 (1906/08)
• Sieben alte deutsche Gedichte op. 23 (1909/10)
• Gedichte von Hermann Hesse op. 24 (1917, then 1929)
• Geistliche Lieder in fünf Bänden op. 27 (1917–1919)
• Kleine Lieder zu Kinderreimen in four volumes op. 28 (1916–1919)
• Lieder auf alte Deutsche Gedichte op. 29 (1912/14, 1920–1925)

Instrumental works

Sonatina for piano Op.

• Piano Trio Op. (1902)
• Symphonic Prologue to Carl Spitteler's Olympic Spring for Orchestra Op. 10 (1905)
• Passacaglia and Fugue in B flat minor for piano op. 20 (1908/09)
• Variations and Fugue on a separate theme in E flat major for piano Op. 21 (1909)
• Variations on an own theme D major for piano Op. 22 (1909)
• Festival Overture for Orchestra (1920s)
• Six Suites for violin solo Op. 31 (1921/22)
• Slow movement for string quartet Op. (1921/22)

Students

• Dora Pejačević (1885–1923), composer
• Max Butting (1888–1976), composer
• Gerhart von Westerman (1894–1963), composer
• Robert Gerhard (1896–1970), composer
• Paul Ben-Haim (1897–1984), composer, conductor
• Albert Moeschinger (1897–1985)
• Walter Simon Huber (1898–1978), music teacher, organist and choir director
• Willy Burkhard (1900–1955), composer
• Hermann Reutter (1900–1985), composer, pianist
• Franz Rupp (1901–1992), pianist and accompanist
• Hans Haug (1900–1967), composer, conductor, pianist
• Heinrich Sutermeister (1910–1995), composer

Further reading

• Theodor Kroyer: Walter Courvoisier, Munich 1929.
• Erich Valentin (1957), "Courvoisier, Walter", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 3, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 384–384; (full text online)

External links

• Literature by and about Walter Courvoisier in the German National Library catalogue
• Christoph Ballmer: Walter Courvoisier in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Walter Courvoisier on BMLO
• Walter Courvoisier on UBNL
• Nachlass Walter Courvoisiers in der Archivdatenbank of the Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek
• Hörbeispiele: Lied der Spinnerin op. 19,1 and extracts from Variationen und Fuge op. 21
• Free scores by Walter Courvoisier at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)