Alexander Steinbrecher

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Alexander Steinbrecher (born June 16, 1910 in Brno , then Austria-Hungary ; † April 6, 1982 in Vienna ) was an Austrian composer who was particularly successful with operettas , film scores , hits and popular Viennese songs.

Life

After graduating from high school , Steinbrecher studied music at the Prague Conservatory with Josef Suk , Antonín Dvořák's son-in-law . After completing his music studies, Steinbrecher initially worked for a Viennese music publisher. During this time he wrote his first hits, songs and some stage works .

In 1936 he wrote his comedy with Musik Schneider in the castle , whose lyrics Steinbrecher wrote together with Hans Weigel . In 1939 he wrote the music for the Alt-Wiener Posse with singing Die Gigerl'n von Wien . In 1940 diamonds from Vienna followed . In this operetta Steinbrecher told the story of the jeweler Joseph Strasser, who lived in Josefstadt and is considered one of the inventors of the rhinestones . Steinbrecher's most famous Viennese song comes from this now forgotten work: I know a little way in Helenental . In 1941 the musical comedy Theres and the Highness was created . In 1942 Steinbrecher achieved his greatest stage success with the burlesque Meine Niece Susanne . From the "delightfully malicious music" and the hits full of witty wit and piquancy, the song Under an umbrella in the evening became particularly well known.

Steinbrecher was married to actress Jane Tilden since 1939 . The marriage was later divorced.

In 1944 Steinbrecher was drafted into military service after all German-speaking theaters were closed. After the end of the Second World War , Steinbrecher went to work as a composer for the radio station Rot-Weiß-Rot in Salzburg , where he was temporarily program director. Later he became Kapellmeister at the Vienna Burgtheater , where he incidental music for popular comedies of Ferdinand Raimund and Johann Nestroy wrote.

Steinbrecher's other well-known Viennese songs include Zwei aus Ottakring and Zwischen Simmering und Favoriten .

Steinbrecher's music is imaginative, charming and always unsentimental. Tailor-made melodies and musical ideas interspersed with modern harmonies find their special charm in cabaret-like, pointed chansons . Steinbrecher's music always complements the often satirical puns of the text.

The composer died after a short, serious illness at the age of almost 72 in Vienna. He was buried in the Neustift cemetery in an honorary grave .

Through his marriages and relationships, Alexander Steinbrecher was the stepfather of the actor and Oscar winner Christoph Waltz and the director Michael Haneke .

Works (selection)

Stage works

  • 1936: Tailor in the castle
  • 1939: The Gigerl'n of Vienna
  • 1940: diamonds from Vienna
  • 1941: Theres and the Highness
  • 1942: My niece Susanne

Songs

  • I know a little way in the Helenental
  • Two from Ottakring
  • Between simmering and favorites
  • Under an umbrella in the evening
  • When can i never sing from the operetta either or
  • On the tree by the stream on the bush

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Biography of the Hans Weigel Archive for the History of Sociology in Austria
  2. ^ Josefstädter Melodien ( Memento from September 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Homepage Klub Rofrano
  3. Schlagerchronik The thirties
  4. Rudolf Bauer. Opera and operetta. A guide through the world of the music stage . Deutsche Buchgemeinschaft 1959, pp. 601–603
  5. Steinbrecher, Alexander . In: Rudolf Vierhaus (Ed.): German Biographical Encyclopedia (DBE) . 2., revised. and extended edition. tape 9 : Schlumberger – Thiersch . De Gruyter / KG Saur, Berlin / Boston / Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-096502-5 , p. 650 ( books.google.at - limited preview).
  6. Rudolf Bauer. Opera and operetta. A guide through the world of the music stage . Deutsche Buchgemeinschaft 1959, p. 601
  7. Haneke and Waltz are quasi "related"