He followed a standard course of studies that included one Willem Mengelberg as a piano instructor. He migrated to Berlin as private teacher and musician to Prince George of Prussia. In 1903 he returned to Bern and settled for good, accepting the invitation to become the city’s orchestra conductor, along with several choral societies. He finally retired to the shores of Lake Lugano, and died near the end of 1959. He wrote ten major symphonies, and if this one is anything like the others then his neglect has been truly unjustified.