Adolf Busch

German violinist

• Born: August 8, 1891
• Birthplace: Siegen, Westphalia, Prussia (now in Germany)

Busch was hailed as a great violinist in the German tradition, and his interpretations in performances and recordings (especially of Beethoven’s late string quartets) were described as masterpieces that elucidated the complex architecture of violin works.

Member of The Busch Quartet; the Busch Chamber Players

The Life

Adolf Georg Wilhelm Busch (boosh) was born into a musical family that included his father, his older brother Fritz (who became a well-respected conductor), and his younger brother Hermann (who became the cellist for the Busch Quartet). He began violin lessons at the age of three with his father, who had reputedly been a pupil of the great German virtuoso violinist, opera composer, and violin pedagogue Louis Spohr. Busch entered the Cologne Conservatory at the age of eleven, where he continued his studies with violinists Willy Hess and Bram Eldering, both of whom had been pupils of the nineteenth century virtuoso Joseph Joachim. When he was fifteen, Busch turned pages at a performance in Bonn by Joachim’s string quartet, with Ernst von Dohnanyi at the piano, an influential experience for the youthful musician.

Busch’s education was rooted in an exclusively Germanic line of musicians, so his mature style stood in contrast to such soloists as Jascha Heifetz, Mischa Elman, and Nathan Milstein, who had been trained by Leopold Auer in the Russian school. In 1907 Busch met composer Max Reger, and they maintained a strong friendship until Reger’s death in 1916. Busch frequently performed Reger’s violin concerto and solo works, and he adopted Reger’s style in his own compositions, which number more than two hundred and include symphonies, concerti, choral works, chamber music, and solo pieces. Busch’s original compositions, however, have faded in the light of his greater accomplishments as a performer.

In 1913 Busch married Frieda Grüters, the daughter of Hugo Grüters, his composition professor, and they had a daughter. Busch left Germany as the Nazi regime expanded its power and influence, and he settled first in Basel, Switzerland, in 1927, adopting Swiss citizenship. In 1939 he emigrated to the United States. His professional life centered around his performances as a concerto soloist, as the first violinist of his string quartet, and as the founding member of the Busch Chamber Players.

Shortly after Frieda died in 1946, Busch married Hedwig Vischer, and they had two sons. In 1950 and 1951 he founded, along with Rudolf Serkin and Marcel Moyse, the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, which is among the greatest chamber music festivals in the United States, and is a proving ground for aspiring chamber musicians. Busch performed for most of his life on a Stradivarius violin known as the Wiener Strad. He died in 1952 at the age of sixty.

The Music

Busch’s professional career began in 1910, when he performed Reger’s violin concerto in Berlin, with the composer conducting the orchestra. In 1912 he assumed the position of concertmaster of the Konzertverein Orchestra in Vienna. It was in this position that Busch founded his first quartet, the Vienna Konzertverein Quartet, composed of principals from the orchestra. The quartet disbanded during World War I. He also taught for a time at the Musikhochschule in Berlin beginning in 1916.

The Busch Quartet. Following World War I, Busch regrouped with three colleagues to form the Busch Quartet. Its original membership consisted of Busch as first violin, Karl Reitz as second violin, Emil Bohnke on viola, and Paul Grümmer on cello. Later, Gösta Andreasson became the second violinist and Karl Doktor became the violist. With these musicians (and again later in 1930, when the younger Hermann Busch replaced Grümmer on cello), the Busch Quartet garnered international acclaim, especially for its interpretations of the music of the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Johannes Brahms, much of which they also recorded. The quartet’s style was reminiscent of the Joachim Quartet’s interpretations a generation earlier, emphasizing clarity of musical architecture through honest adherence to the printed score.

The Busch Chamber Players. The Busch Chamber Players came into being, according to one source, as a result of a request from the city of Florence to perform as a part of its May Festival in 1935. In order to bring the Florentine audience a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg concerti at an artistic level Busch felt acceptable, nearly seventy hours of rehearsal were required. The Busch Chamber Players continued giving concerts for many years, ultimately including Serkin, who became Busch’s son-in-law.

A review of many of Busch’s concert programs shows how often he was featured performing either Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major (which he performed in 1927—the Beethoven Centenary—more than one hundred times), Brahms’s or Reger’s concerti, or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Violin Concerto in D Major. These were among his favorites and formed his basic repertoire. Similarly, his recital programs frequently presented Bach’s solo sonatas and partitas, along with sonatas by Beethoven, Brahms, and Reger. Busch was close friends with many of the greatest musicians of his day, including Arturo Toscanini, Yehudi Menuhin, Efrem Zimbalist, Vladimir Horowitz, George Szell, and Bruno Walter.

Musical Legacy

Busch was hailed in his lifetime as the greatest violinist of the German school, continuing the tradition established by Spohr and Joachim. He was influential on the musical world of the mid-twentieth century for his performances (as a soloist and as the first violinist of the Busch Quartet), for his teaching (among his students was Menuhin), and for his founding in 1950 of the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont.

Busch concertized extensively, principally in Europe and America, and he recorded the major concerti, from those of Bach to Brahms, and a considerable number of string quartets and chamber music with the Busch Quartet and the Busch Chamber Players (which included his brother and son-in-law Serkin, among others).

During the height of his career, Busch was avidly sought as a soloist and chamber musician. His concert schedule was full, and his letters from the time reveal what he termed a “hectic lifestyle.” His emphasis on clarity of form and structure, and his faithful adherence to the composer’s intent were perhaps more in line with the styles of a generation later.

Principal Recordings

albums:Schubert: String Quartets 14 and 15, 1932 (with the Busch Quartet); Brandenburg Concertos, 1936 (with the Busch Chamber Players); Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat, Op. 130, 1941 (with the Busch Quartet).

Bibliography

Busch, Adolf. Adolf Busch: Letters, Pictures, Memories. Edited by Irene Busch Serkin, translated into English by Russell Stockman. Walpole, N.H.: Arts and Letters Press, 1991. This two-volume set collects primary source material on Busch, including letters, pictures, drawings, and more, presenting a comprehensive portrait.

Potter, Tully. Adolf Busch: The Life of an Honest Man. Lancaster, England: Toccata Press, 1986. Subjective and narrative in tone, this brief book nevertheless contains valuable information, including repertoire lists, composition lists, and recording data.