Ari Leschnikoff
Asparuch Leschnikoff ( Bulgarian Аспарух Лешников ), known as "Ari" (born June 16, 1897 in Chaskovo , † July 31, 1978 in Sofia ), was the first tenor of the Berlin ensemble Comedian Harmonists .
life and work
Ari Leschnikoff grew up in Chaskovo and in 1916 attended a cadet school in Sofia . At the end of the First World War he became a lieutenant.
In 1922 he emigrated to Germany to study music there. To finance his livelihood, he also worked as a waiter in Berlin in the Bulgarian student restaurant “Bei Kirow”.
In 1926 Leschnikoff got a contract in the large theater as a choir singer. In the choir he got to know Robert Biberti and Roman Cycowski . At the turn of the year 1927/28, the Melody Makers were founded in Berlin on the initiative of Harry Frommermann , and after a few months they were renamed Comedian Harmonists . Leschnikoff came to this ensemble through Robert Biberti in March 1928, where he replaced 1st tenor Louis Kaliger. When the Comedian Harmonists separated in 1935 because the three Jewish members were forced to emigrate by the National Socialists , Leschnikoff initially took part in the successor group Meistersextett with Biberti and Erwin Bootz as well as the new members Fred Kassen , Walther Blanke and Richard Sengeleitner. When Bootz left the group in 1938 and Leschnikoff denounced Biberti to the Gestapo because of statements critical of the regime after a dispute , this group also fell apart. Since he owed Biberti, he gave him his share of the group's royalties .
In 1939 he tried his luck one last time in Germany as a solo singer, but returned to Sofia in 1940. There he had some recordings made by the record company Mikrophon . Finally, in 1941, he was drafted as captain. He used his savings to buy a four-story house in Sofia, which was completely destroyed in a bombing raid in 1944.
His wife divorced him in 1947 and took their son Simon with her. In 1952 Leschnikoff married a second time. He worked as a gardener and in a factory to keep the family afloat. In 1978, at the age of 81, he died completely impoverished in Sofia. In the last years of his life he had asked Biberti in numerous letters in vain to allow him to participate in the royalties of the Comedian Harmonists again.
Max Tidof played Leschnikoff in Joseph Vilsmaier's film Comedian Harmonists .
Commemoration
In June 2015, a monument to the "Knight of the high f" was unveiled in Leschnikoff's hometown. Every year at the beginning of June there is a national competition festival “With the songs of Ari”, dedicated to the singer, at the same location.
literature
- Eberhard Fechner : The Comedian Harmonists. Six résumés. Quadriga, Weinheim 1988, ISBN 3-88679-174-2 . Paperback edition: Heyne, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-453-87315-7 .
- Bernd Meyer-Rähnitz: Ari & Asparuch - two dissimilar brothers . Albis International, Dresden / Ústí 2008.
Web links
- Ari Leschnikoff in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ari Leschnikoff on comedian-harmonists.net, accessed on December 27, 2018.
- ↑ Inauguration of the bust of Ari Leschnikoff with songs and poems , on Haskovo.info.
- ^ Publishing house homepage of Albis International .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Leschnikoff, Ari |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Leschnikoff, Asparuch (real name); Лешников, Аспарух (Bulgarian) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bulgarian singer, first tenor of the Berliner Ensemble Comedian Harmonists |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 16, 1897 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Haskovo |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 31, 1978 |
| Place of death | Sofia |