Max Bruch (1838-1920) was a German composer, conductor, and educator. Born in Cologne, he began composing at a young age, winning the Frankfurt Mozart-Stiftung Prize to study with composers such as Ferdinand Hiller and Carl Reinecke. In 1858, he composed his first opera, Scherz, List und Rache, which spurred his teachers to suggest that he travel Germany as a composer. His first temporary home was in Mannheim, where he composed a number of popular choral works.

Bruch then became the music director at the Koblenz court from 1865-7, where he befriended violinists such as Joseph Joachim and Pablo Sarasate. With their guidance, he produced several works for violin, though it is his first concerto that has lasted the test of time. It is still frequently performed today and is the composer’s greatest claim to fame. After holding another music director position at Sondershausen from 1867-70, Bruch worked as a freelance composer for the better part of the next decade. He wrote over 200 works over the course of his career in many genres, though he continued to write in the traditionally Romantic style of Brahms and Mendelssohn well into the twentieth century. He was not supportive of the musical developments made by the composers who were part of the “New German School,” such as Wagner and Liszt, which eventually alienated him from the progressing classical music scene.

Bruch held several conducting positions throughout his career in Berlin, Liverpool, and Breslau. In 1890, he joined the faculty at the Hochschule für Musik, where he worked until 1911. He taught several important composers, such as Ralph Vaughan Williams and Ottorino Respighi. Bruch died in 1920. Though he never quite achieved his desired status as a composer, his legacy lives on in the beautiful Violin Concerto in G minor.