Sutermeister, Heinrich (1910–1995)

Swiss composer. He wrote in a consistently conservative idiom, and is best known as a composer of operas.

He studied philology at Paris and Basel, where he entered the Conservatory, later studying with Courvoisier and Pfitzner at Munich. In 1934 he settled at Bern, at first as operatic coach at the municipal theatre. In 1963 he was appointed professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Hanover.

Works Opera and stage the operas Romeo und Julia (1940) and Die Zauberinsel (The Tempest, 1942) (both based on Shakespeare), Niobe, Raskolnikov (on Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, 1948), Madame Bovary (after Flaubert, 1967), Das Flaschenteufel (TV, 1971), Le roi Bérenger (1985); radio opera Die schwarze Spinne (after Jeremias Gotthelf, 1936; produced 1949); ballet Das Dorfunter dem Gletscher; Christmas radio play Die drei Geister (after Dickens); incidental, film, and radio music.

Choral chamber oratorio Jorinde und Jorindel (after Mörike); Baroque Songs for tenor, women's chorus, and instruments; songs for chorus; Cantata 1944 for contralto, small chorus, and piano; Requiem (1952) and seven other cantatas.

Vocal with orchestra Sieben Liebesbriefe for tenor and orchestra.

Chamber and orchestral divertimento for string orchestra; three piano concertos (1943, 1953, 1962), two cello concertos; three string quartets, string trio, and other chamber music; piano and organ pieces; songs.