Maria Bach

Biography

Emilie Marie Baroness von Bach (1896–1978) was an Austrian pianist, violinist, composer and artist.

Early life and family

Maria Bach was born in Vienna, Austria, on 11 March 1896. Her parents were Robert Bonaventura Michael Wenzel von Bach and Eleonore Josepha Maria Theresia Auguste Bach. In 1897, she moved with her family to the castle, Leesdorf, in Baden, Austria. Bach's father, Robert, was an attorney, painter, and violinist. Her mother, Elenore, was both a singer and composer who performed under the conductors Gustav Mahler and Johannes Brahms. Maria had two older sisters, Theresa and Katharina, and a younger sister, named Henriette. Theresa wrote poetry that was put to Bach's music. Katharina married into a highly aristocratic family. Henriette was a solo cellist. Marie took piano lessons at the Musikschule Grimm in Baden and at the age of fourteen began violin lessons.

Early music

Maria Bach began private piano lessons at the age of five with a faculty member at the Grimm School of Music. She would later take lessons with Paul De Conne in 1912. At the same time, she also began violin lessons with Jaroslav Suchy of the Vienna Opera. She played second violin and viola in her father's in-house string ensemble. Bach's parents demanded that both she and Henriette perform long and consistent hours of individual practice. The two daughters would regularly have three hour music reading sessions for learning classical and romantic chamber music. In 1914, she started composing her first prelude, which she followed with songs and other piano pieces. On Sundays Maria and Henriette were allowed to perform at their family's soirees, gatherings where music was performed by the Bach family, when they became more experienced with their instruments. In 1917, Bach composed "Flohtanz (Flea's Dance)." In "Flohtanz" the lively solo piano lasts for approximately three minutes.

Education

Maria Bach began studying composition at the Vienna Academy of Music with Joseph Marx in 1919. Under the tutelage of Marx, Bach wrote four-part fugues, brief piano scores, and analyzed the music of Chopin, Debussy, and Stravinsky. Marx would later help Bach develop her own personal style of composing. She made her debut as a composer in 1921 with Narrenlieder für Tenor und Orchester, a song cycle which was later printed by Schott in Vienna.

Vienna Academy of Music (1919-1925)

Maria began studying at the Vienna Academy of Music in 1919 studying composition under the tutelage of Joseph Marx with whom she analyzed the music of Chopin, Debussy, and Stravinsky. While studying under Marx, Bach specialized in writing four-part fugues and brief piano scores. Marx would later help Bach develop her own style of composing by utilizing variations in rhythms and sonorities.

Music during World War II

During the war, the Nazi party established music prohibitions in Austria. Due to their preference for classical music, which was considered conservative and traditional, "modern" compositions were not allowed to be performed. However, Bach's compositions were deemed both conservative and traditional among Nazi standards and were deemed acceptable to be performed.

Relationships and marriage

During the 1920s Bach developed a relationship with Ivan Boutnikoff, a Russian composer and conductor. Boutnikoff later became her mentor in conducting and orchestration. On 7 October 1952 Bach married Arturo Ciacelli. The two stayed married until Ciacelli's death in 1966. Ciacelli was an Italian painter who taught art at The Italian School in Vienna from 1939 to 1941. During their time together, Bach began painting landscapes, mainly of Italy. After she began to exhibit, her paintings became almost more successful than her compositions. Ciacelli died in 1966 and for a while Bach gave up creative endeavors, but eventually began to compose again. She received a gold medal for composition in 1962 and was awarded the title of professor in 1976.

Death

Bach died on 26 February 1978, possibly from inhalation of a gas leakage from her defective oven in her apartment in Vienna. Her papers are housed in the City Hall Library in Vienna.