Ignaz Brüll (Nov. 7, 1846 - Sept. 17, 1907) was born in Moravia, but lived and worked in Vienna. Born to wealthy merchants, Brüll had a musical upbringing; his mother played piano, and his father was a baritone. Though Brüll was to inherit the family business, he was encouraged to pursue music after he started taking lessons at eight years old, and showed clear talent. By this time, the family had already moved to work in Vienna, and not long after, Brüll began studying with Julius Epstein at the Vienna Conservatory, and he studied composition and instrumentation with Johann Rufinatscha and Felix Otto Dessoff. His abilities as a pianist were such that Brahms requested that he play alongside him for his four-hand compositions.

Some of Brüll's compositions were regular fare in the repertoire for decades, including some operas. Sadly, many were banned by the Nazis, due to his Jewish origins. Today we are looking at his Overture to Macbeth,

Normally an "overture" to something is the opening work, like an overture to an opera, or ballet. This overture stands on it's own, however.

The work begins Allegro molto moderato e  maestoso, with the winds presenting a theme in G minor, and strings follow suit, and then the piece takes off quickly. Lively much of time, it also has a martial, war-like feeling through out it, as if telling an exciting tale--which the story of Macbeth certainly is!  Throughout the work there are themes presented that come back through different instrumentation and keys, and his writing is similar along the lines of Mendelssohn and Schumann. There's liveliness to be had in his work, but with a strain of conservatism in his writing; nonetheless, this is an exciting, enjoyable piece!

Here are some recordings of this for you to enjoy!

Malta Philharmonic
Nurnberg Symphony Orchestra