Jürg Baur
Jürg Baur was born on 11 November 1918 in Düsseldorf (Germany). He began to play the piano at an early age, first at home, later he received lessons with Adelheid Kroeber. As a teenager he also attended organ lessons with Albert Thate. Beside his studies at the piano and organ Jürg Baur also started to compose music in his juvenile years. A string quartet was composed in 1935 at the age of 17 and premiered partially two years later. After school Jürg Baur studied music at the Cologne University of Music with Philipp Jarnach (composition), Karl Pillney (piano) and Michael Schneider (organ). His studies were interrupted by World War II, military service and Russian war captivity and so he finished not until 1947. Beyond that Jürg Baur began musicology studies with Karl-Gustav Fellerer in 1948 which he completed in 1951 and made his master in sacred music in 1954.
After his studies Jürg Baur worked mainly as a teacher and composer. He lectured music theory at the Robert-Schumann-Conservatory in Düsseldorf since 1946 and became its director in 1965 and finally professor in 1969. In 1971 Jürg Baur accepted the position as head of the composition master class at the Cologne University of Music (as successor of Bernd Alois Zimmermann). He held this position until his retirement in 1990. Beside that he lectured also at the Protestant State Sacred Music School from 1959 to 1966.
As a composer Jürg Baur received many awards throughout the years. Most important are surely his scholarships for the Villa Massimo in 1960 and a second one in 1968. In 1969 Jürg Baur was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit for his artistic achievements.
Jürg Baur died on 31 January 2010 in Düsseldorf (Germany).
The work catalogue of Jürg Baur contains compositions for all genres: 6 symphonies, concertos (among them two violin concertos), chamber music, sacred and vocal music, songs and an opera.
Sinfonia brevis
In my possession is the autograph manuscript of the third movement of the Sinfonia brevis by Jürg Baur. The Sinfonia brevis was composed in 1946. It was Jürg Baur's first symphony, but it was never performed.
Today only the autograph manuscripts of the first two movements 1. "Scherzo (Allegro con spirito)" and 2. "Romanze (Andante) für Kammerorchester" are known and preserved at the Heinrich-Heine-Institute in Düsseldorf. The two other movements are thought to be lost or never completed.
In 2023 I found the autograph manuscript of the third movement "Intermezzo (Ostinato)". The manuscript is a fair copy, not a sketch. That let me think that it is very likely that the final movement "Finale (Allegro)" also existed. Unfortunately the location of this final movement is unknown today. But maybe it will be unearthed some time in the future. For that reason I would like to present the third movement of the Sinfonia brevis by Jürg Baur here for preservation and information purpose.
