"Walter Bricht was born on 9 September 1904 into a prominent Viennese musical family. His father, Baldwin Bricht, was a respected music critic for the Volkszeitung newspaper as well as a political editor of the conservative Catholic paper Volksblatt. Baldwin’s critical musical performance evaluations were said to be admired by fellow critic Julius Korngold, father of operatic and later Hollywood film composer Erich Korngold. Walter’s mother, Agnes Pyllemann, was a child-prodigy pianist who later established herself as a popular singer of operatic and concert repertoire. She is credited with premiering many selections of lieder by Hugo Wolf and Gustav Mahler in recital. As further evidence of the family’s status in European music circles, Agnes also reportedly counted composer Johannes Brahms as a personal friend. This environment was fertile ground upon which Walter Bricht began to nurture his musical pursuits.

 

Walter began taking piano lessons from the age of four and progressed to writing piano compositions and lieder by the age of twelve. By his twentieth birthday, Bricht also served as his mother’s accompanist and travelled with her to perform in various local and international engagements. This exposure, coupled with his advanced abilities, contributed to the demand for Bricht’s services as a preferred pianist for chamber and vocal recitals throughout Vienna."

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-Excerpt from "Walter Bricht" by Dr Ryan Hugh Ross, ORT Music and the Holocaust website

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For more information, please visit:

 https://holocaustmusic.ort.org/resistance-and-exile/walter-bricht/