*1850 Frankfurt am Main - †1907 Frankfurt am Main
Anton Urspruch studied piano and composition with Martin Wallenstein, Ignaz Lachner and Joseph Joachim Raff; he continued his studies under Franz Liszt in Weimar. In 1878, he was appointed Professor of Piano and Composition at the Dr. Hoch’s Conservatory, founded the previous year. After the death of Joachim Raff, Urspruch became professor at the newly founded Raff Conservatory, where he taught until his death.
Anton Urspruch produced compositions for piano, solo voice or choir, as well as chamber music, large orchestral works and two operas: Das Unmöglichste von allem, a comic opera after Lope de Vega in three acts (1897), and Der Sturm, Oper in drei Aufzügen after Shakespeare’s “Tempest” (1888). Urspruch was regarded as a late Romantic composer; after his early death, he faded into obscurity.
Further information: www.antonurspruch.de