Baimer, Luc
Baimer, Luc
Baimer, Luc, Swiss conductor and composer; b. Munich, July 13, 1898. He was the son of the painter Wilhelm Balmer. Following training with Hans Huber, Ernst Lévy, and Egon Petri at the Basel Cons. (1915–19), he attended Busoni’s master class in composition at the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin (1921–22). He conducted the Kursaal in Lucerne (1928–32) and at the Zurich Opera (1932–35). Settling in Bern, he conducted at the Opera (1932–35), and then was conductor of the Orch. Assn. (1935–41) and the Music Soc. (1941–64); he also was on the staff of the Bern Radio (1938–68). In 1969 he was awarded the music prize of the City of Bern, and in 1986 the music prize of the Canton of Bern. His compositions, notable for their ludic craftsmanship, were in an accessible style. They include the opera Die drei gefoppten Ehemänner (1967–68), Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, other orch. works, and chamber pieces.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire