Hans Braun (Bass-Baritone)

Born: May 14, 1917 - Vienna, Austria
Died: May 2, 1992 - Vienna, Austria

The Austrian bass-baritone, Hans Braun, made a series of Bach recordings with Felix Prohaska and often performed in J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244) under conductors of the calibre of Hans Knappertsbusch and Wilhelm Furtwängler.

Hans Braun started his musical life with the Wiener Sängerknaben (Vienna Boy's Choir). He made his debut at the Vienna State Opera as the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro in 1938 and later created Kurt in Werbekleid by Franz Salmhofer. As well as being a fine Bach singer, Braun was noted for his performances in the works of Wagner, L.v. Beethoven and Mozart in the 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s. Other eminent conductors with whom Braun performed included Erich Kleiber, Eugen Jochum, Heinrich Hollreiser, Lovro von Matacic and Bernhard Paumgartner. He appeared in Lohengrin in Vienna in 1948 in a performance conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch. The next year he sang in J.S. Bach's Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244) under Knappertsbusch, again in Vienna. Braun, along with Julius Patzak, Maria Stader and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, was awarded the Lilli Lehmann Medal in 1950 - a prize donated by the Salzburg Mozarteum for singing in the Lilli Lehmann tradition. In that year he appeared at the Salzburg Festival with Julius Patzak, Maria Stader and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in Mozart's Great Mass in C Minor under Paumgartner and in Fidelio conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler. 1952 saw Braun perform in Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244), again under Wilhelm Furtwängler. In 1958 he sang in Paul Hindemith's Requiem Als Flieder jüngst mir im Garten blüht at the Singakademie Wien.

Source: XIIC: From the 'Galant' to the 'Biedermayer' Website; Maria Stader, "Nehmt meinen Dank", Kindler, 1979; Yahoo Website - "Singers who were born on 14^th May"
Contributed by Eric Spicer (July 2001); Manfred Krugmann (Dates & Photos 01-10, May 2011)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Eugen Jochum

Bass

BWV 232 (x2), BWV 244 [1^st]

Felix Prohaska

Bass

BWV 4 [1^st], BWV 4 [2^nd], BWV 78, BWV 106, BWV 140 [1^st], BWV 140 [2^nd]

Mogens Wöldike

Bass

BWV 244

Links to other Sites

XIIC: From the ‘Galant’ to the ‘Biedermayer’