Aljoscha Zimmermann

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Aljoscha Zimmermann (born June 6, 1944 in Riga , † December 19, 2009 in Munich ) was a German pianist and composer from Latvia , who was best known for setting silent films to music.

Life

Aljoscha Zimmermann grew up in Riga, where he attended the conservatory . At the age of 25 he received an engagement at the Riga Operetta and Musical Theater . In 1973 he emigrated from the Soviet Union and went to Berlin , where he mainly worked in ballet at the Deutsche Oper . Konstanze Vernon brought him to Munich in 1981 to join the Heinz Bosl Foundation and the University of Music and Theater , where he taught as a professor until 2009 . In the 1980s he came into contact with silent films. Enno Patalas , then director of the Munich Film Museum , commissioned him in 1988 to set Sergej Eisenstein's armored cruiser Potemkin to music . As a result, he set about 400 silent films to music, including Dr. Mabuse, the player , Meyer from Berlin , Nathan the Wise , Metropolis and Die Ausernprinzessin , and accompanied many silent film festivals with music.

His daughter Sabrina Hausmann is a violinist and also accompanies silent films. His daughter Irina Goldstein made a documentary about her father in 2005 under the title When Silence sings .

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