Oskar Bohme

Full biography Oskar Bohme

Oskar Bohme was a German composer and trumpeter who lived from February 24, 1870, to October 3, 1938. He was born in Saxony, Germany, and was the son of a local musician who played trumpet in a miners' band and worked as a music teacher in Dresden. Bohme followed in his father's footsteps and became a trumpet player himself. He began his career in the orchestra of the Königin Carola Theater in Dresden and later worked as a soloist in Berlin.

Bohme's music was primarily in the romantic style, and he wrote mainly works for the trumpet and brass. His most famous compositions are likely his trumpet concertos in F minor and E minor, which are still popular with trumpet players today. The F minor concerto has been particularly influential, inspiring Soviet composers from Shchyolokov to Peskin to write their own romantic trumpet concertos , often in minor keys.

Bohme's reputation has also benefitted from his collaborations with Russian musicians. He was well-known in Russia during his lifetime and some of his works, such as his Brass Sextet in E-flat minor, were written with Russian ensembles in mind. In fact, Bohme's concertos were played by some of the most famous Russian trumpeters of the 20th century, such as Timofei Dokshizer and Sergei Nakariakov.

While Bohme's life and career were relatively short, his music has continued to be popular among trumpet players and aficionados of romantic music. He was a pioneer of the trumpet concerto form and helped to establish it as a significant genre in classical music.