Münch, Charles (EN)

Münch, Munch Charles, Carl, *26 September 1891 Strasburg, †6 June 1968 Richmond (Virginia), French conductor, violinist and teacher, brother of Fritz. He studied violin at the Strasbourg Conservatory under the supervision of his father, Ernst. From 1912, he continued his studies with L. Capet in Paris, and then with C. Flesch in Berlin. As an Alsatian, he was conscripted into the German army during World War I. In 1919–25, he taught at the conservatory in Strasbourg; he also performed with the local Orchester Municipal. From 1925 to 1932, he was a professor of violin at the Leipzig Conservatory, in 1926–33 concertmaster of the Gewandhaus orchestra, and performed at concerts in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig as a violinist and conductor. In 1935–38, he headed the Orchester Philharmonique de Paris, from 1936 he was a professor of violin at the Ecole Normale de Musique, and from 193 to 1946 director of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire in Paris. After the war, he gave concerts in many European countries and the United States, and in 1948–62, he headed the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with which he also made recordings (mainly for the RCA Victor label). From 1951 to 1962, he was director of the Berkshire Music Centre in Tanglewood. Thanks to it, the American audience learned about a wide repertoire of French music from the 19^th and 20^th centuries, as well as many contemporary works by American composers. In 1956–58, Münch was director of the Concerts Colonne orchestra. In 1967, he founded l’Orchester de Paris and was its first director.

In the field of conducting, Münch was an autodidact. His conducting art was characterized by a balance between discipline, attention to the clarity of structure and dramatic clarity (influence of Furtwängler and Walter), and typically French elegance and panache. His contemporaries emphasised his extremely strong personality and downright magnetic influence on the orchestra’s musicians. He has performed numerous premieres, including works by S. Barber (Prayers of Kierkegaard, 1954), A. Copland (Symphonie Ode, 1956), A. Honegger (Dedicated to Münch 3^rd Symphony “Liturgique,” 1946 and 5^th Symphony “Di tre re,” 1951), J. Ibert (Symphonie marine, 1963), A. Jolivet (Les trois complaintes du soldat, 1943, 1^st Symphony, 1953), B. Martinů (6^th Symphony, 1955, dedicated to M. Paraboles, 1959), D. Milhaud (including 6^th Symphony, 1955), G. Petrassi (Concerto per orchestra No. 5, 1955), F. Poulenc (Gloria, 1961), A. Tansman (Quatre danses polonaises pour orchester, 1947).

Literature: Ch. Münch Je suis chef d’orchestre, Paris 1954, American ed. New York 1955, German ed. Zurich 1956, Russian ed. Moscow 1960; K.V. Burian Charles Münch, Prague 1970.