Hans Rosbaud
Hans Rosbaud was one of the best known conductors in Europe, particularly for his pioneering performances of twentieth century music.
He studied at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, where his piano instructor was Alfred Hoehn and his composition instructor Bernhard Sekles. He chose an academic career, becoming director of the State Music School (Städtische Musikschule) in Mainz. There he also frequently conducted the Municipal Orchestra. During his first year there he conducted music by Paul Hindemith, then one of the most rapidly rising young stars in the German music, and a teacher of his for three years, and scheduled other new music.
In 1928 he took the position of Musical Director of Frankfurt Radio, a position he held until 1938; simultaneously he was First Kapellmeister of Frankfurt's Museumgesellschaft concerts. In both positions he made Frankfurt one of the most exciting venues for new music. He frequently scheduled music of Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Bartók, Stravinsky, and others. He presented the premiere performances of Schoenberg's Four Songs with Orchestra, Op. 22 (1932),and Bartók's Second Piano Concerto with the composer as soloist (1932). Nazi rule forced him to curtail performances of Jewish composers and those labeled as "cultural Bolsheviks" after 1933. He also shifted to less prominent positions as Generalmusikdirektor in Münster (1937-1941) and in Strasbourg (1941-1944). After the war, he again returned to conducting in a major city, as Principal Conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra (1945 - 1948).
But his preference was for radio, where he could schedule more innovative concerts and reach a wide audience with modern music. Therefore in 1948 he accepted the position as Chief Conductor of the South-West German Radio Orchestra in Baden-Baden. German radio was based on strong regional companies whose programs were also carried elsewhere in the country. Baden-Baden, with a history as one of the most liberal corners of German and a strong interest in arts, was ideal for Rosbaud's purposes. Furthermore, the identification by the Nazis of their opposition to certain kinds of music gave that music a strong prestige and support among, particularly among the younger audience. These factors, and a sense of a need to learn about music currents that had passed Germany by when Hitler and Goebbels transformed the country into a cultural backwater, combined to create a strong audience for Rosbaud's programming.
He made the provincial orchestra into a strong and precise ensemble, with a lean, anti-Romantic sound. Success on radio led immediately to demand for phonograph recordings. He participated in the first Aix-en-Provence Festival in 1948 and remained associated with it, often appeared in the Donaueschingen Festival, Europe's primary avant-garde music festival (where he supported the music of Boulez, Stockhausen, and their circle), and performed regularly at the annual festivals of the International Society for Contemporary Music. He gave the first performances (concert and staged) of Schoenberg's Moses und Aron. In 1957 he added the position of Music Director of the Zurich Tönhalle Orchestra.
His performances were highly objective, clear, and intellectual, frequently seeming now to lack warmth.
© TiVo
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MOZART / BEETHOVEN / LISZT: Piano Concertos (Gieseking, Rosbaud, Wood) (1932, 1936, 1937)
Walter Gieseking, Staatskapelle Berlin, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hans Rosbaud, Henry Wood
Classical - Released by Naxos on 18/04/2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin / Beethoven / Mozart / Haydn / Liszt: Piano Works (Arrau) (1929, 1937-1939)
Claudio Arrau, Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by Music and Arts Programs of America on 27/06/2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Master of Classic Music, Sibelius - Finlandia Op. 26, Valse TristeOp. 44, the Swan of Tuonela No. 3, Op. 22, Bolero (Festivo)
Hans Rosbaud, Berliner Philharmoniker
Classical - Released by Oscardigital on 18/08/1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 7 in E Minor
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by Vox on 1/01/1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Sinfonie No. 7
Sudwestfunkorchester Baden-Baden, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by Adora on 13/11/2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reger: Piano Concerto in F Minor, Op. 114 - Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 25, K. 466 & 503
Erik Then-Bergh, Walter Gieseking, Sinfonieorchester Des Südwestfunks, Philharmonia Orchestra, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by Jube Classic on 7/10/2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Concerto pour piano No. 5 "L'empereur" (Mono Version)
Robert Casadesus, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Hans Rosbaud
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1/01/1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Don Giovanni (Mono Version)
Hans Rosbaud, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Chœurs du Festival d'Aix-en -Provence
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1/01/1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphonie No. 7 (Mono Version)
SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden, Hans Rosbaud
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1/01/1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
SWR Symphonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by SWR Mediaservices GmbH on 5/04/2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No. 5 by Bruckner
Hans Rosbaud, Sinfonie Orchester des Sudwestfunk Baden-Baden
Classical - Released by OperaPrima-Carillon on 23/04/2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 1, Op. 21
SWR Symphonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by SWR Mediaservices GmbH on 5/04/2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 7 in E Minor
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by Archipel on 5/01/2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Overtures
SWR Symphonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by SWR Mediaservices GmbH on 5/04/2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart, W.A.: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 and 25 (Gieseking, Rosbaud) (1953)
Walter Gieseking, Philharmonia Orchestra, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on 1/01/2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 2, 5, 7 & 8
SWR Sinfonieorchester des Südwestrundfunks, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by Andromeda on 3/06/2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Barber: Violin Concerto, Op. 14
Ludwig Bus, SWR Symphonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by SWR Mediaservices GmbH on 12/04/2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler Edition, Vol. 1: Symphony No. 1 in D Major "Titan"
SWR Sinfonieorchester des Südwestrundfunks, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by Stradivarius on 7/07/1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monique Haas joue Mozart
Hans Rosbaud, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden, Monique Haas
Classical - Released by Tahra on 2/09/2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Conductors: Hans Rosbaud Conducts Bruckner Symphony No. 7 (Haas Edition)
Sudwestfunkorchester Baden-Baden, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by Jube Classic on 7/10/2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Masterpieces: Julian von Karolyi (Recordings 1949 & 1961)
Julian von Karolyi, Münchner Philharmoniker, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by Jube Classic on 2/07/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo