Joseph Lauber

1864 (RUWSWIL) – 1952 (GENEVA)‍

Joseph Lauber was born in Ruswil, Lucerne, in 1864. He spent most of his childhood in Neuchâtel, where his father conducted an orchestra. Thanks to the patronage of chocolatier Carl Russ-Suchard, Lauber was able to study at the Zurich Conservatory – where he was mentored by Friedrich Hegar, amongst others. In 1884, he furthered his studies with Josef Rheinberger in Munich, in the same class as Richard Strauss. In Paris, Lauber took composition lessons with Jules Massenet.

After working as an organist, music teacher and choir director in Le Locle, Neuchâtel, Lauber taught piano at the Zurich Conservatory in the final years of the 19th century. In 1901, he was appointed Kapellmeister at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. In Geneva, however, he made his mark above all as a professor at the Conservatoire: Lauber taught piano, style and form, instrumentation and composition for many years. Numerous Geneva-based composers studied under him; his most famous student was Frank Martin.

Lauber himself wrote over 200 works, spanning all the major genres of his time. His style is significantly influenced by late German Romanticism and French Impressionism. At the same time, Lauber strove to find a distinctive Swiss expression in his music. This endeavour is particularly evident in his six symphonies, which he composed at the end of the 19th century on an alp in Martigny – but also in evocative titles such as the symphonic suite ‘The Alps’ or the ‘Quintet on Swiss Themes’. In 1899, he co-founded the Swiss Society of Composers

In 1941, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Neuchâtel. Joseph Lauber died in Geneva in 1952. His compositional estate is held at the University Library of Lausanne.