Description
Gerard von Brucken Fock
Von Brucken Fock grew up with his brothers Emile and Henri at the beautiful mansion Ter Hooge, where the richness of nature surrounding him made a huge impact. He played the piano and was an alt-violin player in a �fun-loving� orchestra in Middelburg. Around 1877 he began to study composition in Utrecht with Richard Hol and piano with F.L. van der Wurff. And like many other in that time, he continued his studies in the capital of composition: the Berliner Conservatory, where he studied with, among others, Friedrich Kiel. Here he made his most sold works, the �Twaalf Klavierstukken� opus 27.
An important inspiration to Gerard were the sea and rivers like the Schelde and the Gironde. In compositions like �Laag water aan de schelde� for piano and �de Schelde� for soprano, choir and orchestra, we hear a poetic painting of his image of nature. Another important inspiration was poetry. The poet Joannes Reddingius was fascinated with witchcraft and on his poetry Gerard wrote an orchestral piano accompaniment. In the summer Gerard would paint in Domburg, and had contact with, among others, the famous painter Toorop. His paintings can still be admired in the Marie Tak van Poortvliet museum in Domburg.
