Schwarz, Rudolf (1897–1961). German church-architect. He studied under Poelzig in Berlin. He worked with Dominikus Böhm on the prize-winning unexecuted design for a church in Frankfurt (1926–7), and Böhm's influence is clear in Schwarz's Corpus Christi Church, Aachen (1928–30), a simple white building with a black altar on a platform reached by a flight of steps. He published a work on church-design in 1938 in which he discussed the relationships of plans, structures, and congregations. After the 1939–45 war he designed a great number of churches, many with reinforced-concrete frames, the spaces filled with brick, glass, and stone. Chief among his works are St Anna, Düren (1951–6), St Michael, Frankfurt (1953–4), and the Church of the Holy Family, Oberhausen (1956–8). In 1960 he published Kirchenbau (Church Building) in which he emphasized the desirability of bringing the congregation into a more intimate relationship with the altar. He was involved in the reconstruction of several German cities after 1945, notably Cologne (where he designed the Wallraf-Richartz Museum (1951–7) ).

Bibliography

K. Becker (1981);
Kalman (1994);
Hammond (ed.) (1962);
Hasler (2000);
Kidder-Smith (1964);
Placzek (ed.) (1982);
Pehnt (1997);
R. Schwarz (1958, 1968);
M. Schwarz & and Conrads (1979);
Stegers (2000);
E. Teague (1985a)

SCHWARZ, RUDOLF

SCHWARZ, RUDOLF (1905–1994), conductor. Born in Vienna, Schwarz joined the Düsseldorf Opera as répéptiteur at the age of 18 and conducted an opera there the following year (1924). From 1927 to 1933 he was at Karlsruhe under Josef Krips. When Hitler came to power, he was forced to resign, and in 1936 was appointed musical director of the *Juedische Kulturbund (Jewish Cultural Organization) in Nazi Germany. In 1941 he was sent to Bergen-Belsen, and after his release in 1945, he settled in England. He directed the city orchestras in Bournemouth (1947–50) and Birmingham (1951–57). From 1957 to 1962 he was chief conductor of the bbc Symphony Orchestra, and then became principal conductor of the Northern Sinfonia Orchestra, Newcastle (1967–1973). He furthered the performance of British music, including new works by Bliss, Gerhard, Hamilton, Rubbra and Tippett; and in 1958 he conducted the première of Britten's Nocturne. Schwarz was generally admired for his perceptive skill in a variety of classical and, especially, contemporary music. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1973.

bibliography:

Grove Music Online.

[Israela Stein (2^nd ed.)]

Schwarz, Rudolf

Schwarz, Rudolf, Austrian-born English conductor; b. Vienna, April 29, 1905; d. London, Jan. 30, 1994. He studied violin. He joined the Düsseldorf Opera as a répétiteur (1923), and then made his conducting debut there (1924); subsequently was a conductor at the Karlsruhe Opera (1927) until being removed in 1933 by the Nazis as a Jew. After serving as music director of the Judischer Kulturbund in Berlin (1936–39), he was imprisoned (1939–40), and then interred at the Belsen concentration camp (1943–15). Following his liberation, he settled in England, becoming a naturalized British subject in 1952. He was conductor of the Bournemouth Municipal Orch. (1947–51) and music director of the City of Birmingham Sym. Orch. (1951–57); after serving as chief conductor of the BBC Sym. Orch. in London (1957–62), he was principal conductor (1964–67) and artistic director (1967–73) of the Northern Sinfonia in Newcastle upon Tyne. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1973.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

Schwarz, Rudolf (b Vienna, 1905; d London, 1994). Austrian-born conductor (Brit. cit. 1952). Violist in Vienna PO. Ass. cond. Düsseldorf Opera 1923, later at Karlsruhe 1927–33. Mus. dir. Jüdischer Kulturbund, Berlin, 1936–9. Prisoner in Belsen concentration camp 1943–5. Settled in Eng. Cond. Bournemouth Municipal Orch. 1946–51, CBSO 1951–7. Chief cond. BBC SO 1957–62. Prin. cond. Northern Sinfonia Orch. 1964–73. CBE 1973.