Prof Michael Brimer

Prof Michael Brimer

Professor of Music and Head of the Music Department of the University of Natal and since 1974 of the University of Cape Town (1974-1979). Organist, pianist and conductor.

(8 August 1933 - 7 March 2023), Cape Town

Brimer's school days were spent at the prestigious St George's Grammar School in Cape Town. At the age of 12 Michael Brimer's music education commenced under Eleanor Bonnar (piano), a pupil of Leopold Godowsky; during the following eight years she greatly influenced his musical development. He was a chorister at St George's Cathedral in Cape Town and had organ tuition from Dr Alban Hamer from 1945 to 1952, while completing his schooling and studying for a BA degree at the University of Cape Town. Meanwhile he had also been assistant organist to Dr Hamer and, after the latter's death in March 1952, he became acting organist and choirmaster of St George's Cathedral.

A music bursary awarded by UNISA enabled Brimer to continue his studies at the Royal College of Music (RCM) and the Royal School of Church Music (RCCM) (1953-1955); he also enrolled for the B.Mus. degree at the University of London. After completing the courses for the FRCO, ARCM, LRAM and the Mus. Bae., an Organ Scholarship opened the way for further study at Clare College, Cambridge (1955-1957), where he was awarded the MA degree in Music. In the meantime, he had also furthered his piano studies in England and, after the Cambridge period, in Vienna, where he was taught by Josef Dichler. In August 1958, he was appointed Director of Music at the Church of England Grammar School in Brisbane, Australia, but returned to London in August 1960 as Headquarters Choirmaster of the Royal School of Church Music. Eighteen months later the University of Western Australia appointed him lecturer' in music; he served there until January 1966, when he became senior lecturer in Music at Monash University in Melbourne, Victoria - a position which he held until 1970. During his sojourn in Australia, he founded and conducted the West Australian Bach Society, appeared as piano and organ soloist with the Queensland, West Australian and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, conducted choral concerts and performed as a concert pianist. 

His international solo-performing career also flourished and he gave concerts in many countries as recitalist, soloist and chamber musician. In 1962 he premiered Malcolm Williamson's Piano Concerto No. 2. He was a member of The Australian Trio, along with Donald Hazelwood (violin) and Georg Pedersen (cello). He performed the complete series of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas five times to great critical acclaim. In Australia, both the live broadcast and recorded series of the Beethoven and of the complete Schumann piano works have been voted the most popular series on ABC Classic FM in the ABC's annual listener survey. Brimer claimed to be the first pianist to record the complete Beethoven sonatas in Australia. The series of live recitals broadcast in 1986 were intended for commercial release on cassette tape, but due to a technical issue not all the sonatas were released. Brimer and his wife Judith were among the co-founders of the Bermagui Four Winds Festival, at which some of his works have been played and he appeared as a pianist. Michael Brimer composed a number of works. Both his Piano Trios were premiered with the Australian Trio, and the first (2001) has been recorded.

Michael Brimer returned to South Africa in February 1971, to become Professor of Music and Head of the newly-formed Music Department of the University of Natal in Durban. In 1973 he resigned from this post to take charge of the South African College of Music in Cape Town, where he served as Director from 1974-1979. In 1975, his book Utopia Unlimited was published in Cape Town.

In 2005, Brimer was appointed Music Pedagogy Adviser to the Australian Music Examinations Board (NSW), and was a member of AMEB's Teaching Specialist Panel. Brimer was a juror for the 2006 Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, and the 2008 Sydney International Piano Competition (SIPCA). He also assisted Warren Thomson in the Sydney auditions for the 2008 SIPCA. 

Brimer died on 7 March 2023, at the age of 89.

Sources:

Malan, Dr. Jacque P., ed. South African Music Encyclopaedia. Vol. 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979, 233.

“Michael Brimer,” Wikipedia, last modified April 21, 2025, accessed December 19, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Brimer