Kaun, Hugo
Kaun, Hugo
Kaun, Hugo, German composer; b. Berlin, March 21, 1863; d. there, April 2, 1932. He studied at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik (1879–80), then with Oskar Raif (piano) and at the Prussian Academy of Arts with Friedrich Kiel (composition). He was active as a teacher and conductor of the Liederkranz in Milwaukee (1887–1901), then returned to Berlin, becoming a prof, at the Klindworth-Scharwenka Cons. (1922). He publ. Harmonie- und Modulationslehre (Leipzig, 1915; 2nd ed., 1921) as well as an autobiography, Aus meinem Leben (Berlin, 1932). A cultured composer, he incorporated in his well-crafted works elements of both Brahmsian and Wagnerian idioms.
Works
dramatic opera:Sappho (Leipzig, Oct. 27, 1917); Der Fremde (Dresden, Feb. 23, 1920); Menandra (staged in Kiel and several other German opera houses simultaneously, Oct. 29, 1925). orch.: 3 syms.; 2 piano concertos; Der Sternenbanner, festival march on the Star-Spangled Banner; Der Maler von Antwerpen, overture (Chicago, Feb. 3, 1899); Im Urwald, 2 symphonic poems, after Longfellow’s Minnehaha and Hiawatha (Chicago, Feb. 7, 1903). other: Chamber music; many piano pieces; choral works; songs.
Bibliography
W. Altmann, H. K. (Leipzig, 1906); R. Schaal, H. K., 1863-1932, Leben und Werk: Ein Beitrag zur Musik der Jahrhundertwende (Regensburg, 1946).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire