Bresgen, Cesar

Bresgen, Cesar, Austrian composer and teacher of German descent; b. Florence, Oct. 16, 1913; d. Salzburg, April 7, 1988. He studied organ, piano, conducting, and composition at the Munich Academy of Music (1930–36), his mentors being Emmanuel Gatscher, Gottfried Riidinger, and Joseph Haas. In 1936 he won the Felix Motti Prize for composition. After working in the music division of the Bavarian Eadio in Munich, he settled in Salzburg in 1939 and organized his own music school; he also taught composition at the Mozarteum. He served in the army during World War II, and then was a church organist and choir director in Mittersill. In 1947 he returned to the Salzburg Mozarteum as prof, of composition. In 1974 he was awarded the Austrian State Prize for music. He publ, the books Musikalische Doku-mentation (Vienna, 1982) and Die Improvisation in der Musik (Wilhelmshaven, 1983), as well as folk song collections. As a composer, Bresgen acquired a notable facility for writing effective Gebrauchsmusik .