Adolf Berdien

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Adolf Berdien (born February 9, 1876 in Restorf ; † September 21, 1954 in Lüchow ) was a German conductor , chief music officer for the German Wehrmacht and professor at the State Academic University of Music in Berlin . Berdien is best known for his numerous recordings of the marches and other concert music pieces.

biography

Imperial Army

Adolf Berdien was born on February 9, 1876 in Restorf . On July 3, 1894, at the age of 18, he began his service with the Infantry Regiment Prince Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau (5th Pomeranian) No. 42 , whose garrison town was Stralsund at the time . His main instruments were bassoon and piano. On April 1, 1902, he was posted to the Royal Academy of Music in Charlottenburg . At the Hochschule für Musik he began his studies, which Berdien completed on March 22, 1905 with the music master's examination. After a short stay in his regiment, he was promoted to staff hoboist on July 1, 1905 and transferred to the 6th Lorraine King Infantry Regiment No. 145 in Metz . Since 15 music and trumpet corps were already stationed in the city , this contributed to the exchange of experiences among numerous staff hoboists of the garrison, including Berdien now. On April 1, 1909, Berdien was transferred to Posen , where he took over the position of music master with the 2nd Lower Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 47 . He continued the tradition of the Poznan summer and winter concerts, which his predecessor Oskar Hackenberger , later also army and army music officer, brought to life. At the same time Berdien took part in the Poznan Orchestra Association . From 1910 Berdien's music corps provided the musical program for the newly built Poznan theater . The repertoire included works of high complexity, including the operas “ Parsifal ” and “ Der Ring des Nibelungen ”. Furthermore, Berdien organized concerts of military music in the city zoo. His name was on the list of three winners of the competition, which was announced by the V Army Corps .

First World War

After the outbreak of World War I , Adolf Berdien was promoted to chief musician on August 2, 1914 and went to war with his regiment. During the war he wrote the song of the Combres-Streiter based on the text by Rudolf Herzog in memory of the battle for the Combres-Höhe in 1915. The piece later became a regimental song.

Reichswehr

In the Reichswehr , Obermusikmeister Berdien did his military service first in the music corps of the 2nd Battalion of the 16th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment in Hanover and from 1925 in the music corps of the III. Battalion of the 9th (Prussian) Infantry Regiment in Berlin-Spandau . This position near the Reich capital earned Berdien his reputation as an artistically gifted music corps leader, not least because of the recordings he made with his orchestra for such well-known record brands as Electrola , Deutsche Grammophon , Kristall and Telefunken . In addition to various German and international marches , his repertoire also included pieces of brass music literature such as character pieces , waltzes , hymns and other pieces.

Wehrmacht

Until 1936, chief musician Berdien continued his military career in Spandau . From April 26, 1935, he was assigned to the State Academic University of Music in Berlin-Charlottenburg to train military musicians , where he was a teacher of composition and composition. In the same year, Obermusikmeister Berdien was transferred to the newly established Infantry Regiment 67 , which was also located in Spandau . In autumn 1935 Berdien led the world premiere of the concert for Trautonium and wind orchestra by Harald Genzmer on the Dietrich Eckart stage in Berlin , with one of the inventors of the Trautonium, Oskar Sala, participating as a soloist.

On April 1, 1936, Berdien was promoted to music master and assigned to the Reich Ministry of War . At the farewell concert in the zoological garden , the music dedicated to Berdien was played , which Gerhard Scholz (later head of the staff music corps of the German Armed Forces in Siegburg ) composed and conducted himself as a musician of the regimental band of the 67s. Adolf Berdien wrote the Olympic fanfare for the Olympic Games in Berlin . Subsequently, Berdien was promoted to army music manager in 1936 and appointed professor at his music college on February 22, 1937. In 1938 he was promoted to chief music officer. In the same year, Professor Berdien wrote his best-known work, the March of Young Soldiers .

From February 1, 1943 to July 6, 1944, Berdien was represented by the staff music master Ernst Krauße due to his illness . In 1944, after 50 years of military service , Army Chief Music Officer Professor Adolf Berdien was retired. The university paid tribute to his professor with a ceremony and the following big farewell concert. The concert program included both old masters: Handel , Weber and Beethoven , as well as representatives of symphonic brass music: Paul Höffer , Fried Walter and Hermann Grabner . At the end of the march, the young soldiers rang out under the personal direction of the composer.

Adolf Berdien died on September 21, 1954 in Lüchow .

Works

Works for wind orchestra

  • 1936 Olympic fanfare
  • 1938 Young Soldiers (March)

Songs

  • 1915 Lied der Combres-Streiter (T .: Rudolf Herzog )
  • 1937 Along the street with song and sound (marching songs)

literature

  • Farewell concert for Prof. Berdien . In: Deutsche Militär-Musik-Zeitung 66 (15/16), 1944, pp. 92–93.
  • Berdien, Adolf. In: Fred K. Prieberg: Handbook of German Musicians 1933-1945 . PDF on CD-ROM. Kiel 2004, pp. 390-391.
  • Heinz Busch: Efficient conductors, exemplary soldiers. On the role of the Academy of Music in Berlin in the training of young music masters . Part 2. In: With sounding game 26 (3), 2003, pp. 10-18.
  • Werner Probst: Young soldiers. March by Prof. Adolf Berdien . In: Koblenz - Our garrison. The Army Music Corps 5 plays marching rarities . Supplement to the long-playing record with the same title No. 1810. Abenberg 1983, unpaginated.

Web links

Audio samples

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Scholz, Gerhard. In: Fred K. Prieberg: Handbook of German Musicians 1933-1945 . PDF on CD-ROM. Kiel 2004, p. 6277.
  2. ↑ Heinz Busch: Efficient conductors, exemplary soldiers. On the role of the Academy of Music in Berlin in the training of young music masters . Part 2. In: With sounding game 26 (3), 2003, p. 12.
  3. ^ Farewell concert for Prof. Berdien . In: Deutsche Militär-Musik-Zeitung 66 (15/16), 1944, pp. 92–93.
personal data
SURNAME Berdien, Adolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German conductor, military chief music officer and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH February 9, 1876
PLACE OF BIRTH Restorf
DATE OF DEATH September 21, 1954
Place of death Lüchow