Brunhilde Sonntag facts for kids
Brunhilde Sonntag was a talented German composer, music expert, and teacher. She was born on September 27, 1936, and passed away on December 18, 2002. She spent her life creating music, studying it, and teaching others about it.
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Brunhilde Sonntag's Life Story
Early Life and Music Studies
Brunhilde Sonntag was born in Kassel, Germany. She started her music journey by studying the organ at a special music school in Schlüchtern. She also studied education at a teaching institute.
From 1959 to 1963, Brunhilde worked as a teacher at the Friedrich Ebert School in Frankfurt. During this time, she also took private lessons to learn how to compose music from a teacher named Kurt Hessenberg.
Becoming a Music Professor
Brunhilde continued her studies from 1963 to 1969. She went to the Hochschule for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria, to learn more about composing. Her teachers there included Otto Siegl and Gottfried von Einem. After her studies, she started teaching music at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen.
Later, from 1973 to 1977, Sonntag studied musicology at the Philipps-University in Marburg. Musicology is the study of music, including its history, theory, and how it's made. She earned a PhD, which is a very high university degree.
After getting her PhD, she became an assistant professor in Münster. From 1981 to 1992, she worked as a professor at the University-GH-Duisburg. In 1992, she became a professor at the University of Wuppertal.
Sharing Her Knowledge: Books and Magazines
Brunhilde Sonntag didn't just teach and compose; she also shared her knowledge through writing. She published many books and articles about music. She helped edit a magazine called the Journal of Music Education. She also co-edited a cultural magazine called Sound Tracks. Plus, she was an editor for a series of books about music, art, and consumerism for LIT Verlag in Münster.
Brunhilde Sonntag's Musical Compositions
Brunhilde Sonntag wrote many different kinds of music. She composed pieces for large orchestras, smaller groups of instruments (called chamber ensembles), singers, choirs, and solo instruments like the piano or organ. Here are some examples of her works:
- Auf einem Baum ein Kuckuck saß (1958) – This is a cantata, which is a piece of music for singers and instruments, often telling a story.
- Hausbau-Stück for piano (1959) – A piece written for a single piano.
- Schädelvariationen for soprano and piano (1967/68) – A song for a female singer (soprano) and piano.
- Fantasie und Fuge über EGAH for organ (1976) – A piece for the organ, showing her skill with this instrument.
- Hallelujah! Variationen über "Oh, when the Saints go marching in" (1981) – This piece uses a well-known tune and changes it in different ways (variations) for a soprano singer, clarinet, and piano.
- Von guten Mächten for choir a cappella (1982) – This is a piece for a choir singing without any instruments (a cappella).
- Streichquartett (1984) – A string quartet is a group of four string instruments, usually two violins, a viola, and a cello.
- O Tod, wie bitter bist du for orchestra (1991) – A piece for a full orchestra.
- DIALOG for guitar duo (1989) – A piece for two guitars playing together.
- SOLO für Esther for solo cello (1991) – A piece written for just one cello.
