Gertrude Brückner

Gertrude Brückner was born on 2 August 1890 in Ober-Salzbrunn (at that time part of the German Empire, today Szczawno-Zdroj in Poland). In 1909, she enrolled at Stern’s Conservatory in Berlin as a piano student of Martin Krause. She also attended the State Academy of Music in Charlottenburg (Berlin), where she studied composition with Engelbert Humperdinck and completed studies in theoretical subjects, rhythmic gymnastics, dance, organ, piano, and musicology, concluding with a final examination. She subsequently continued her education as a composition student in the master class of Georg Schumann at the State Academy of Arts and also studied musicology at the university. Around the same period, she expanded her education in Breslau, where she trained as a concert pianist under Professor Georg Dohrn. After moving to Munich, probably from 1922 onward, she undertook private composition studies with Siegmund von Hausegger and Hermann von Waltershausen.
After her studies, Gertrude Brückner appeared in numerous concerts and performed with the Breslau Philharmonic Orchestra in several Silesian cities. Alongside her concert activity, she worked continuously as a private music teacher - an occupation that remained an important source of income throughout her life. From March 1922 until at least September 1938, she lived in Munich. Her financial circumstances were often difficult, and in the late 1930s, she repeatedly applied for support through cultural aid programmes.
From approximately 1936, she became associated with GEDOK, the German and Austrian association of women artists and patrons, and she was among the more frequently performed female composers within its concert activities.
From around autumn 1938, she lived first in Lindenburg and later in Bad Salzbrunn. In November 1944, she returned to Munich. After the end of the Second World War and her expulsion from Silesia in 1945, she suffered severe personal and artistic losses, including the disappearance of almost all her manuscripts and earlier compositions. Beginning in March 1947, she lived on Prinzregentenstraße in Munich, where she remained for the rest of her life. Forced to rebuild both professionally and artistically, she resumed composing and teaching.
Because most of Brückner’s pre-1945 manuscripts were lost, her surviving catalogue can only be partially reconstructed. Her orchestral output included two symphonies and a piano concerto from around 1940, all of which are presumed lost. Her chamber music comprised violin and cello sonatas, a piano trio, piano works, and various other pieces. In the realm of vocal music, she wrote cantatas, choral works, the oratorio "Vaterländisches Oratorium", the sacred works "Confessio" and "Messe über die Welt", as well as numerous song cycles.
Gertrude Brückner died on 2 February 1977 in Munich (Germany).

In my possession is the autograph manuscript of the "Suite No.10 - Präludium" for piano by Gertrude Brückner. The manuscript was found in the musical estate of pianist Elly Ney and is unfortunately undated. So I have no information when the work was composed.