Max Bruch was a distinguished German composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor, born on January 6, 1838, in Cologne, Prussia, and he passed away on October 2, 1920, in Berlin-Friedenau, Germany. He is particularly remembered for his contributions to the Romantic era of music and is best known for his violin concertos, especially his Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26, which has become a staple of the violin repertoire.
Bruch began his musical journey at a young age, writing his first composition at the age of nine as a birthday gift for his mother. His early musical education was under the guidance of Ferdinand Hiller and later by the Bohemian composer and piano virtuoso Ignaz Moscheles, who recognized Bruch’s talent.

Throughout his career, Bruch held various musical positions across Germany, including in Mannheim, Koblenz, Sondershausen, Berlin, and Bonn. He also spent three seasons as the conductor of the Liverpool Philharmonic Society. From 1890 until his retirement in 1910, he taught composition at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, where his notable students included the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi.

Compositions:
Bruch composed over 200 works, and while he wrote many large-scale choral and orchestral works that were popular during his lifetime, today he is primarily celebrated for his works for solo instruments and orchestra. In addition to his first Violin Concerto in G minor op 26, his other well-regarded pieces include the Scottish Fantasy for violin and orchestra and Kol Nidrei for cello and orchestra. Despite the decline in popularity of his larger works, Bruch’s contributions to the violin and cello repertoire continue to be cherished by musicians and audiences alike.

Bruch’s evergreen for the first time in Urtext

Thanks to the premiere performance by Joseph Joachim and to the release of the printed edition in 1868,…