Franz Kasper
Franz Kasper is a German musician and songwriter who sings in English. His real name is Franz Kasper Krönig and is Professor of Elementary Didactics and Cultural Education at the Technical University of Cologne .
Life
He studied musicology, philosophy and linguistics at the University of Cologne with final Master of Arts and doctorate there in Sociology Dr. phil. He taught at the University of Cologne (MediaStudies), at the University of Flensburg (sociology of education), at the Cologne University of Music and Dance, as well as the Cologne University of Technology and the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences .
Kasper's musical repertoire ranges from pop and rock to jazz, classical and country elements. His instruments are the guitar and the piano. His first record The free wheeling (2001) he recorded mostly alone. He then went on tour with a classical string quartet (two violins, a cello, a double bass), himself on the piano, as well as Andreas Berg (formerly the drummer of Toxoplasma ) on the drums and Anselm Weyer on the trumpet. With this backing band, the Violin Violence, he recorded his second album on The New Rockin 'Chair in 2002 , which attracted attention in jazz circles.
The follow-up album Don't Forget to Say No, Baby (2004), also recorded with Violin Violence, marked Kasper's change from piano to electric guitar and accordingly came up with more rocky tones. The line-up of the backing band also changed insofar as only one violinist, the Polish Radek Stawarz , played. Bassist Kees van Zomere also joined the band. With this line-up, Franz Kasper opened the open-air festival Haldern Pop in the Spiegelzelt in 2005 . The next album, The Grasshopper and Me (2005) was a turn towards radio-friendly pop and, unlike the two previous albums, was not recorded live, although all members of the Violin Violence played. The backing band then broke up. Drummers Andreas Berg and Anselm Weyer stayed behind. The latter had previously played the trumpet and harmonica, but after Kees von Zomere left, he now switched to the electric bass, guitar and piano. In this trio line-up, sometimes expanded to include guest musicians, Kasper, Berg and Weyer recorded the bluesy Man with a Dog (2007). Franz Kasper then toured with Moneybrother and The Frames, among others . After a long break, he released Did the Devil not Corrupt You? . In 2019 Franz Kasper will release the LP Losing it with the band The Kasper Collusion ( Achim Tang on double bass, Kurt Fuhrmann on drums) .
reception
Kaspar's music was attested to be "high international songwriting level" or "international format" and a "timeless, virtuoso casualness", the music was "excellently arranged and played" or "artfully arranged".
Discography
- 2001: The Free Wheeling (Day-Glo Records / Rough Trade)
- 2002: The New Rockin 'Chair (Day-Glo Records / Rough Trade)
- 2004: Don't Forget to Say No, Baby (Day-Glo Records / Rough Trade)
- 2005: The Grasshopper and Me (Day-Glo Records / Rough Trade)
- 2007: Man with a Dog (Day-Glo Records / Rough Trade)
- 2011: Up to You, Up to Me (single)
- 2012: Did the Devil Not Corrupt You?
- 2019: Losing it (The Kasper Collusion) (Meyer Records / Rough Trade)
Web links
- Sound carrier by Franz Kasper in the catalog of the German National Library
- Artistic homepage
- Academic homepage at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences
Individual evidence
- ↑ gaesteliste.de
- ^ Rainer Voss: Franz Kasper - "Musical lateral thinker". Interview in Jazzdimensions 1/2003
- ↑ www.plattentests.de
- ↑ www.plattentests.de
- ↑ Frank Sawatzki / AP Associated Press www.N24.de / ARD Videotext Kultur 09/05
- ^ Christian Riethmüller: Heidegger, Mozart, Meister Eckhart. In the Frankfurt club “Das Bett”, the Cologne singer, pianist and guitarist Franz Kasper cares little about the history of rock. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, January 7, 2008
- ^ Heiko Schneider in TV feature film, September 30, 2005
- ↑ Jazzdimensions , April 2003
- ↑ Kölner Stadtanzeiger, 13./14. August 2005
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kasper, Franz |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Krönig, Franz Kasper (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German musician and songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 20th century |