Franz Chmel

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Franz Chmel (born February 26, 1944 in St. Pölten ; † August 18,  2016 there  ) was an Austrian harmonica player . He celebrated numerous national and international successes and won the world title several times.

Life

Chmel completed an apprenticeship as a machine fitter at ÖBB and retired in 1996.

Franz Chmel learned to play the harmonica at the age of six. Two years later he also began to learn to play the accordion and a few years later the guitar . At the age of twelve he and his brothers founded the harmonica trio “Piccolo”, which never attracted much attention.

Chmel celebrated his first successes from 1957 as a teenager at the Austrian Harmonica Championships, where he achieved first place in the trio. In the following year he reached 4th place in the trio at the World Championships in Luxembourg , before winning the World Championships in Pallanza in 1958 and winning the Lower Austrian championships in the categories trio, soloist and quartet in 1959. In 1960 he took 3rd place at the World Cup in Barcelona . In 1961 he won the Austrian championships and the European Festival in Stuttgart in the trio and quartet categories. In 1962 he reached 1st place as a soloist, 2nd place in a trio and 4th place in a quartet at the international tape competition. In 1963 Chmel again won the World Championships in Strasbourg in the soloist category. He also took 2nd place in the quartet. In 1971 he again achieved 1st place in the international tape competition as a soloist. In 1988 he took 1st place in a trio and 2nd place as a soloist at the World Championships in Helmond .

In 2003 he received the Jakob Prandtauer Prize for Science and Art from the Lower Austrian state capital St. Pölten , as he made a significant contribution to the cultural identity of the state capital.

Discography

Albums

  • 1989: Gypsy ways
  • 1994: Fantasia Baroque
  • 2000: Classic Harmonica Vol 1
  • 2010: Classic Harmonica Vol 2 and 3

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chmel Franz in Huebner's Who is who in Austria  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Retrieved on Feb. 23, 2012@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.whoiswho.co.at  
  2. ^ Website of Franz Chmel ; Retrieved on Feb. 23, 2012
  3. ↑ Press release of the city of St. Pölten OTS0071, March 4, 2003 10:58
personal data
SURNAME Chmel, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian harmonica player
DATE OF BIRTH February 26, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Polten
DATE OF DEATH 18th August 2016
Place of death St. Polten