Anserme, Ernest

He was born into a family of mathematics and at first chose the same profession for himself, in 1903 he graduated from the University of Lausanne . In 1905 - 1909 Anserme served as a professor of mathematics at the same university, but became interested in music and began to take private lessons in composition from Ernest Bloch , and also to observe the work of conductors. After spending a year in Berlin , where Arthur Nikisch and Felix Weingartner helped him improve, Anserme first stood at the conductor's console in 1910 , conducting concerts in Lausanne. In subsequent years, he directed the Philharmonic concerts in Montreux , and in 1915 he headed the Geneva Symphony Orchestra.

In the 1910s, Anserme formed creative contacts with famous composers - Claude Debussy , Maurice Ravel , Igor Stravinsky (who lived in Switzerland at that time). It was on the recommendation of Stravinsky in 1915 that Anserme got the place of the chief conductor of the Russian ballet Diaghilev , with whom he performed in many countries of the world. In 1916 , while in New York , Anserme made his first audio recordings as a conductor. Under his leadership, the premieres of the ballets Eric Satie " Parade ", Manuel de Falla "The Triangle", Sergei Prokofiev "The Tale of the Jester, Seven Jesters Crossed ", as well as the compositions of Igor Stravinsky - " The History of the Soldier ", "Pulcinella", "The Tale of the Fox" took place , rooster and ram ”, etc.

In 1918, Anserme founded the Orchestra of Romanesque Switzerland in Geneva and directed it until 1968 . The sound of this group was distinguished by the purity of the timbre, the transparency of the orchestral texture and the high performance technique. Under the direction of Anserme, mainly the compositions of the composers of the era of classicism and romanticism sounded, but also the work of his contemporaries, in particular, composers of the French school: Debussy, Ravel, Roussel , Onegger , Martin . Anserme became the first conductor of Britten ’s opera “The Scolding of Lucretia” in 1946, and also gave premieres of works by Copland , Lutoslavsky , Martin , Walton and other composers.

Despite numerous offers of conducting positions in various groups, Anserme remained for fifty years with the orchestra he had created (which did not prevent him, however, from touring as a guest conductor). Numerous recordings of this group have enriched the world musical repertoire and are now available on CDs.

Anserme wrote several musical compositions, including the orchestral play Spring Leaves. In 1961 he published a philosophical and aesthetic treatise, “Fundamentals of Music in the Human Mind”, in which (among other things) he condemned the serial technique of avant-garde artists and defended the tonality of the classic-romantic type. He is also the author of a number of music-critical articles and memoirs.

He was buried in the Geneva cemetery of the Kings .

• Les Fondements de la musique dans la conscience humaine. Neuchâtel: La Baconnière, 1961.
• (co-authored by J.-C. Piguet) Entretiens sur la musique. Neuchâtel: La Baconnière, 1963; in Russian Translation: Conversations about music. 2nd ed. L., 1985.
• Écrits sur la musique, éd. J.-C. Piguet. Neuchâtel: La Baconnière, 1971; in Russian translation (sample): Articles about music and memories. M .: Soviet composer, 1986.

• Les_Fondements_de_la_musique_dans_la_conscience_humaine (article in French VP about the book Anserme)

• Ernest Anserme in the Swiss Historical Dictionary (French)
• Ernest Anserme (English) on the Allmusic website
• Anserme Biography and Photos
• Discography of Anserme (Italian)