Gerhard Gruber (musician)

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Gerhard Gruber (2019)

Gerhard Gruber (born May 6, 1951 in Aigen im Mühlkreis , Upper Austria ) is an Austrian silent film pianist . Gerhard Gruber's approach to silent film accompaniment is improvisation, which he sees as a direct and ever new dialogue with what is happening on the screen.

Life

Gerhard Gruber studied from 1971 to 1974 at the Graz University of Music , Jazz Department . From 1974 to 1987 he was a piano teacher and a member of various jazz groups. From 1983 to 2011 he was a composer for theater music - for example for the Theater in der Josefstadt , the Volkstheater Wien , the Theater Gruppe 80 and the Theater der Jugend (Vienna) .

Gerhard Gruber has been a silent film accompanist at the piano since 1988 and has so far accompanied around 600 different silent films. Among other things, he composed the music for the films Die Stadt ohne Juden , Der Wiener Prater im Film, Speckbacher and Café Elektric .

In Austria he mainly held performances in Vienna in the Filmarchiv Austria , the Austrian Film Museum and in the Breitenseer Lichtspiele . Since 2006 numerous appearances abroad (including Mexico, Krasnoyarsk, Madrid, Istanbul, Beijing, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Washington, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Tokyo, Hobart, Auckland).

Gerhard Gruber's approach to silent film accompaniment is improvisation , which he sees as a direct and ever new dialogue with what is happening on the screen.

reception

Ilse Aichinger wrote in 2006: “It makes every film possible and at the same time unnecessary. Those who see their hands on the illuminated keys can risk forgetting Chaplin themselves to help their memory of him. Anyone who hears Gerhard Gruber's piano playing is able to trust his breath again. "

Alexander Horwath , director of the Austrian Film Museum, characterized Gruber's work: “Silent film music in Gruber's sense is ... always a partnership proposal; in a partnership that is guaranteed to never get boring. An 'open relationship' including an intimate relationship of trust. "

Awards

Selection of accompanied films

Venues (selection)

  • Paris, Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation 2017
  • Hobart Silent Film Festival 2017, State Cinema
  • Ukraine Tour - Kiev, Odessa, Kharkiv 2016
  • Mexico City Cineteca, Queretaro 2016
  • Filmoteca Valencia 2016
  • Boston Jewish Film Festival 2016
  • 3rd Students Film Festival of India, Pune 2015
  • National Film Center Tokyo 2014
  • Auckland University of Technology 2013
  • State Cinema Hobart 2013 - 100th Anniversary
  • Murmansk Lenin (ship, 1959) - music recordings 2013
  • Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival 2012
  • Los Angeles American Cinemateque / Aero Theater 2012
  • Pune-Mumbai / India Silent Film Tour 2012

Web links

Commons : Gerhard Gruber  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ilse Aichinger (2006) Subtexts: Der Filmerzieher . Vienna: Edition Korrespondenzen. ISBN 3-902113-46-4
  2. ^ About the silent film music by Gerhard Gruber. stummfilm.wordpress.com (weblog), October 14, 2008. Accessed May 10, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Gruber, Gerhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian silent film pianist
DATE OF BIRTH May 6, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Aigen im Mühlkreis , Austria