Jochum, Eugen (EN)

Jochum Eugen, *1 November 1902 Badenhausen, †26 March 1987 Munich, German conductor, Otton’s brother. In 1922–25, he studied at the Akademie der Tonkunst in Munich with H. Waltershausen (composition) and S. von Hausegger (conducting). Initially, he worked as a tutor in the music theatres of Munich and Mönchen-Gladbach. He made his debut in 1926 in Munich, after which he was employed at the Cologne Opera, where he remained until 1929, rising to the position of first conductor. During this time, he conducted over 50 operas and also conducted concerts in Lübeck. He spent the 1929/30 season in Mannheim, and in 1930–32, he worked in Duisburg as Generalmusikdirektor. After a sensational performance of Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony (1932), he was offered the musical directorship of a radio station in Berlin and guest appearances with the Berliner Philharmonische Orchester, with which he collaborated in the following years. In 1934–49, he held the position of Generalmusikdirector in Hamburg; he then became famous for his performances of works by Bartók, Hindemith and Stravinsky, despite Nazi pressure. His concerts with the Concertgebouworkest in the occupied Netherlands resulted in post-war cooperation with this ensemble. In 1949, he moved to Munich, where he founded and directed the Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks until 1960. In 1961–64, together with B. Haitink, he directed the Concertgebouworkest in Amsterdam and made his debut with this ensemble in 1961 in the United States. With the staging of Tristan in 1953, he began a long-term cooperation with the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth. In 1971–73, he acted as conductor of the Bamberger Symphoniker. He has made many album recordings, including recordings of the full cycle of symphonies by Bruckner, Beethoven (twice), Haydn’s London symphonies, Bach’s passions and Weihnachtsoratorium. He received the medal of the Internationale Brucknergesellschaft, in which he served as chairman of the West German section from 1950. He was also a member of the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste. In the 1977/78 season, he was conductor-laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra. He has published, among others, Zur Interpretation der Fünften Symphonie von Anton Bruckner. Ein Rechenschaftsbericht (in Bruckner-Studien, a commemorative book of L. Nowak, Vienna 1964).

Literature: F. Herzfeld Eugen Jochum, in: Magie des Tacktstocks, Berlin 1953; K. Blaukopf Eugen Jochum, in: Grosse Dirigenten, Teufen 1952; 2^nd ed. 1957, English ed. London 1955; M. Flothius Bernard Haitink and Eugen Jochum, the New Conductors of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, “Sonorum Speculum” 1960 No. 4.