Carl Busch (29 March 1862, Bjerre – 19 December 1943, Kansas City) was a Danish-born American composer and music teacher sometimes associated with the Indianist movement. He was an important figure in the musical life of Kansas City, Missouri for many years.
Busch was born in Bjerre, on Jutland, to a lawyer and his wife, and was the youngest of five children. His father hoped that he would follow him into the legal profession, but Carl was more interested in pursuing a career in music, learning to play the flute, violin, and cello. He studied and played under many of the notables of the day, including Niels Wilhelm Gade and Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann; he also worked under Johan Svendsen. The abilities he showed in his studies led to the offer of a scholarship to the conservatory in Brussels, from which city he went to Paris. There he played under Charles Gounod and Benjamin Godard, and became acquainted with Camille Saint-Saëns as well. From Paris he returned to Denmark for a time before leaving for the United States.
Busch was especially noted for his works based on themes from the Western United States, and he would frequently incorporate American Indian themes into his music. He set many tribal songs as solos, and reworked some into larger pieces such as the Four Indian Tribal Melodies for string orchestra, based upon the music of the Omaha and Chippewa. Other works, such as A Chant from the Great Plains for band, are more generically 'Western' in their inspiration. Among Busch's other works was the suite Ozarka, about the Ozarks in southern Missouri.
The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music houses the Carl Busch Papers and Music Instrument Collection, ca. 1833-1924. [5] This collection consists of original and published music by Busch and other musicians, correspondence, newspaper and journal clippings, photographs, programs, books and music instruments. There is also a bust of Busch in that collection, sculpted by Jorgen Dreyer in 1912. Text source : Wikipedia (Hide extended text) ... (Read all)
