Donemus Webshop — Bunge, Sas

Sas Bunge came from a musical family. After completing his secondary education (at the age of 15, he won an interscholastic piano competition with one of his own compositions, inspired by a painting by Watteau), he began studying at the Amsterdam Conservatory in 1942 under George van Renesse and Nelly Wagenaar. This study culminated in 1946 with the Prix d’Excellence; he then took further lessons with Marguérite Long in Paris. Alongside his piano studies, Bunge also took composition lessons at the conservatory with Hendrik Andriessen and later with Kees van Baaren.

Sas Bunge was a versatile artist who left an indelible impression as a pianist, composer, and writer. As a pianist, he had a particular affinity for the great Romantic composers, including Schumann (e.g., *Carnaval*), Chopin (e.g., the *Ballades*), and Liszt (the *Études*). He was also a brilliant interpreter of Ravel and Debussy. Additionally, he championed Dutch composers such as Willem Pijper, Rudolf Escher, and Frank Martin. Bunge sought out and introduced lesser-known piano repertoire (e.g., works by Alkan, Arensky, Gottschalk, and others). At a time when the concept of "musical theater" was still in its infancy, he gave recitals with innovative theatrical elements at Amsterdam's Shaffy Theater.

In addition to his role as a piano professor at the Utrecht Conservatory, he also taught an intriguing course on structural analysis in his later years, where many of his talents converged.

Initially, Bunge’s style built upon the foundations of Impressionism: he firmly believed in the potential to extract “new gold from the tonal system under the pressure of sufficient talent.” He wrote many songs (with texts by Ronsard, Louise Labé, Ben Jonson, and others) and received the Johan Wagenaar Prize for his *Ballade des Pendus* (1944), based on a text by François Villon, for mezzo-soprano and orchestra. Later, he was awarded various grants for composing educational music (piano études to develop specific technical skills, compositions for small harps, and earlier works for school orchestras and youth choirs). He also composed chamber music for standard ensembles.

Source: [cellosonate.nl](https://cellosonate.nl/bunge-sas/)