Rudolf P. Baumann was born in Zurich (Switzerland), son of the medical Doctor
Rudolf B., radiologist, and Alice B., pianist with a concert diploma. He has a
brother Felix B. who studied history of Arts and later became director of the
famous Kunsthaus (museum of art) in Zurich. Rudolf P. followed piano and
violoncello lessons until he graduated from grammar school (Old Language
Gymnasium, with courses in Latin and ancient Greek). He studied medicine and
obtained 1960 the State diploma in medicine. His professional career leads him
to a specialisation in pathology (morbid anatomy) which he practised until 2001.
Through the years he maintained an avid interest in classical music and attended
concert and opera productions in Switzerland and Germany for the main part. He
listened on a regular basis to radio and TV broadcasts, each musical production
was heard with the score and the parameters of the performance were exactly
noted. By doing so, the precise time duration of the work performance was noted
as well.
From 2001 until now, RPB studied musicology and attended lectures as well as
seminaries at the Musikwissenschaftliches Institut (Institute for Musical
Studies) of the University of Zurich (Directors: Prof. Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen
and Laurenz Lütteken). In the meantime he gives periodically lectures on
important productions which were simultaneously scheduled at the Zurich Opera
(e.g. Der ferne Klang by Franz Schreker, Moses und Aron by Arnold Schönberg,
Palestrina by Hans Pfitzner and, recently, Mathis der Maler by Paul Hindemith)
or for concert presentations by the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft (e.g. Elias by Felix
Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Turangalîla-Symphonie by Olivier Messiaen, War Requiem by
Benjamin Britten). |