Erni Kaufmann

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Erni Kaufmann , née Erni Handke (born June 3, 1906 in Witten , † October 11, 1957 in Hamburg ) was a German musician in women's orchestras.

Life

Even in their earliest childhood in Witten, Erni Handke and her brother Adolf (1908–1975) received music lessons: while Adolf Handke later (1938–1952) was first French horn player in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra , Erni Handke performed after her professional violin, saphone and Accordion training in women's orchestras (for example in the German women's orchestra of the Lissi Uhlenborn and in the women's attraction orchestra together with the Italian violinist Ernesto Arcari). During her extensive touring trips in the period between the two world wars, she also made guest appearances in the Star Varieté Theater Haus Vaterland (corner of Ballindamm / Bergstrasse), an internationally known social center of Hamburg.

Historic tombstone
in the women's garden

In 1942 Erni Handke married Schorsch Kaufmann from Hamburg, who died in 1945 as a soldier in World War II . Years of malnutrition during the post-war period gradually weakened Erni Kaufmann's health so much that she contracted pulmonary tuberculosis , to which she finally succumbed in 1957. Her partner, the Hamburg art blacksmith Hermann Wolf, dedicated the tombstone to her, which is now in the women's garden at the Ohlsdorf cemetery .

reception

The women's orchestra genre suffered from a double moral concept: on the one hand, the female artists should also meet the special, high demands of the male audience in their physical appearance; on the other hand, they should appear demure and reserved with regard to their femininity in order to counter the usual suspicions of possible prostitution intentions. Corresponding allegations were made in particular by disapproving musician competitors who ultimately aimed at a ban on women's bands. At the same time, in view of the professional training of the musicians and their low social recognition, the fees were inappropriately low, and there were additional discriminatory regulations with every change of location: a certificate of good conduct had to be presented to the respective registration authority and a detailed declaration of lifestyle.

literature

  • Dorothea Kaufmann: "Looking for a routine drummer": Musician in a ladies' band: On the picture of a forgotten female profession from the imperial era. (= Writings on popular music research. Volume 3). Verlag Coda, Karben 1997, ISBN 3-00-001838-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Opening in 1919 after the merging of the buildings of Hotel Belvedere and Hotel l'Europe with concert coffee for more than 1000 guests including a men's bar and spacious dance hall, in which international dance bands and music stars performed; Closure in 1972 (article in the Hamburger Abendblatt 2017 )
  2. ↑ old recordings of Haus Vaterland at bildarchiv.de
personal data
SURNAME Kaufmann, Erni
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Handke, Erni (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German musician (violin, saxophone, accordion)
DATE OF BIRTH June 3, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Witten
DATE OF DEATH October 11, 1957
Place of death Hamburg