Gerhard Gundermann

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Gerhard Gundermann, 1994

Gerhard Rüdiger Gundermann (born February 21, 1955 in Weimar ; † June 21, 1998 in Spreetal ) was a German songwriter and rock musician .

In the GDR , the excavator driver Gundermann was seen as the mouthpiece of the people in the Lusatian lignite mining area from the 1980s onwards . After German reunification he devoted himself more to environmental protection and expressed himself critically about the social development in eastern Germany.

His songs, which are often characterized by a melancholy undertone, partly reflect a very personal approach to the issues of life, death and dying. Due to the topics conveyed in this way, Gundermann's songs are considered to be carried by a personal authenticity .

Life

Gerhard Gundermann moved to Hoyerswerda in the Cottbus district in 1967 . At the age of twelve, Gundermann found his father's gun from the war, which he showed to playmates. His father was given a suspended sentence for illegally possessing weapons and then broke off all contact with him. In 1973 Gundermann passed his Abitur and as part of his training to become a political officer of the NVA, initially studied in Löbau at the officers' college of the Land Forces Ernst Thälmann , where he sang in the army club . Since he refused to sing the praises of a general, he was de-registered in 1975 and from then on worked as a laborer in the Spreetal opencast mine . From 1976 he trained as a skilled worker at the evening school and during this time he was recruited by the Ministry for State Security as an unofficial employee (IM). He chose the code name Grigori. In 1977 he became a candidate for the SED (a precursor to full membership), and in the following year he was expelled from the party "because of his own undesirable opinion". After protests, however, the exclusion was converted into a “severe reprimand”. In 1978 Gundermann went with the Hoyerswerda singing club to the Festival of Political Songs in East Berlin . In the same year the singing club was renamed "Brigade Feuerstein". The musical fairy tale "Raskadonia" was performed for the first time. Gundermann married in 1983. His wife Cornelia ("Conny"), whom he had known since school, brought two children into the marriage. In 1992 their daughter Linda was born. In 1984 he was finally expelled from the SED because of his “principled idiosyncrasy”. In the same year the Ministry of State Security ended its cooperation with him. During his time as IM he received a total of 1,500 marks for his work and in 1981 the Artur Becker bronze medal, an award from the FDJ .

Gerhard Gundermann, 1989

In 1980/81 Gundermann wrote the children's musical “Malvina” together with Alfons Förster , with which he successfully toured with the Feuerstein Brigade. Gundermann's future wife Conny was a member of the group and played the title role of Malvina. In 1986 he made his first solo appearances as a singer-songwriter and in 1987 won the main prize and the record price at the GDR Chansontages . In 1988 his first LP was released, which, like his other official studio records, was not recorded in songwriting style, but with various rock bands (e.g. Gundermann und Freunde, Die Wilderer, from 1992 then Gundermann & Seilschaft ). During this time, Gundermann and the Feuerstein brigade separated because his high standards no longer matched those of the band members. In 1989 the band broke up, but after the fall of the Wall there were sporadic appearances together. In 1989 Gundermann worked as a copywriter for the new album February by the group Silly , which was successful in the GDR . He also got involved in cultural policy: on March 1, 1989, at the “Congress of the GDR's entertainment arts”, he gave a speech that corresponded to the new thinking of Mikhail Gorbachev .

At the Volkskammer elections on March 18, 1990 , he ran unsuccessfully for the United Left Action Alliance .

Gundermann (center) & rope team in 1993 in the Kesselhaus of the Kulturbrauerei Berlin

In the 1990s, the "singing excavator driver from Lusatia" and his roped party with titles such as Engel über dem Revier (musical processing of the dismissal from the opencast mine in 1997, which was decisive for his life) or Here I am born (reflection on his own homeland and origin) gather a growing fan base around you. With his wide range of topics in the songs about declining industrial areas, life and death, simple everyday stories, the environment or unemployment, Gundermann became popular in the east, while he remained almost unknown in western Germany until the end of his life. The critical-poetic analysis of reunification and its consequences for East Germany took a central place on his later records. It was particularly important to him to deal with topics such as exploitation, people, nature, ecology as well as poverty and wealth. Gundermann neither smoked nor drank alcohol.

In 1995 Gundermann's work for the Ministry for State Security came to light. The musician expressed his shame about not having spoken earlier about his own role as an informant. He commented on his role as IM with the words: “I do not see myself as a victim or as a perpetrator. I got involved with the GDR - who else? - and I've dealt and pocketed. And I learned. That’s why I’m born. ”His song Sieglinde can be interpreted as a musical coming to terms with this past.

Gundermann's grave in the forest cemetery in Hoyerswerda

In addition to his band appearances with his band " Seilschaft ", which also recorded all albums from 1993 onwards, Gundermann toured frequently as a songwriter with his solo programs and participated in various projects, for example the program "Doppelkopp" with the songwriter Manfred Maurenbrecher . In 1994 Gundermann & Seilschaft played in the opening act for Bob Dylan and Joan Baez . Even after his music alone guaranteed him a living income, he also continued to work as an excavator driver in lignite mining . After the mine was closed in 1997, he began retraining as a carpenter. His maxim to live not from art but from "real" work in order to prevent his songs from being marketed commercially led to an overly strenuous lifestyle with extremely little sleep. He often drove straight from his three-hour concerts to the shift or vice versa without allowing himself a break.

In 1997 he supported the founding of the songwriter festival "Hoyschrecke" in the Kulturfabrik Hoyerswerda , in whose rooms he played several concerts shortly before his death.

Gerhard Gundermann died of a stroke in June 1998 at the age of 43 in his home town of Spreetal . He left behind his wife and four children. His grave is in the forest cemetery in Hoyerswerda .

Aftermath

On September 12, 1998, a large memorial concert for Gundermann took place at the open-air stage in Berlin-Weißensee , in which the rope team as well as numerous artists and companions took part, including the songwriter Gerhard Schöne , the chanson singer Barbara Thalheim , the actor Thomas Rühmann and the brigade Flint.

Since 1999, the association Gundermanns Seilschaft e. V. committed to the care of his estate. Above all, his songs and the thoughts behind them should be kept alive.

In 2000, some members of the Tübingen State Theater founded the fringe group combo around the musician, actor and director Heiner Kondschak . The band plays Gundermann songs and has now released three albums. Since it was founded, it has given more than a hundred concerts throughout Germany and has made a significant contribution to making Gundermann and his songs known in the old federal states as well.

The Dutch songwriter Johan Meijer translated songs by Gundermann into Dutch in 2008 and recorded them on the Hondsdraf CD . Hondsdraf is the Dutch name for the flower Gundermann .

On the occasion of Gundermann's tenth anniversary of his death, a memorial concert took place on June 21, 2008 in Berlin's Columbiahalle . In this concert, among other things, were roped together , the fringe Combo , Polkaholix , Christian Haase and Silly on. The concert was recorded; large parts of the recording were published in 2009 on the DVD All or None - Tribute to Gerhard Gundermann .

Shooting of Andreas Dresen's Gundermann feature film in the Nochten opencast mine

Gundermann's band Die Seilschaft has been active again since 2010 and gives numerous concerts across Germany. Songwriter / musician Christian Haase has now joined the band as singer and guitarist, thus completing the band.

For Gundermann's 60th birthday, Axel Prahl and Andreas Dresen organized a concert in the Berlin Kesselhaus in the Kulturbrauerei in 2015 . In addition to her band, Judith Holofernes , Gisbert zu Knyphausen , Tobias Morgenstern and Wenzel performed . Since the tribute concert was sold out very early, it was repeated on February 22nd.

In October 2017, based on Laila Stieler's script and directed by Andreas Dresen, filming began on a biography of Gundermann's life. Alexander Scheer took on the leading role. The film Gundermann opened in German cinemas on August 23, 2018 .

In 2018 Gundermann's daughter Linda founded the project Linda and the Loud Brides , which Gerhard Gundermann's songs will carry on to the next generation , together with members of the bands Schnaps im Silbersee , Hasenscheisse and Lari & die Pausenmusik .

The Kulturfabrik Hoyerswerda is building an archive of sound carriers, videos and memorabilia of Gerhard Gundermann.

Awards

  • 1987: with the Feuerstein Brigade at the GDR Chansontage in Frankfurt (Oder), the main prize of the VEB Deutsche Schallplatten for the men, women and machines program . (This enabled the production of the LP of the same name.)
  • 1994: with the rope team, the annual award of the best song list for the song Sehnsucht nach dem Piede Catcher .

Publications

Discography

  • 1988 LP Men, Women and Machines
  • 1989 collaboration on the album February by Silly
  • 1992 CD Einsame Spitze ; Collaboration on the album Sons of Whores by Silly
  • 1993 CD The 7th Samurai (Gundermann & Seilschaft )
  • 1995 CD Breakfast forever (Gundermann & Seilschaft)
  • 1997 CD Engel über dem Revier (Gundermann & Seilschaft)
  • 1998 CD Krams - The Last Concert (live recording of the last concert a week before his death)
  • 1999 CD Unplugged (Silly + Gundermann & Seilschaft) (November 22, 1994, Lindenpark Potsdam)
  • 2000 CD Live Pieces I (mainly Gundermann & Seilschaft)
  • 2004 CD work pieces II. The poachers
  • 2005 CD Torero ... Werkstücke III (Solo / Live)
  • 2006 CD Grandma Else. An audio story in songs , read by Petra Kelling and Gerhard Gundermann
  • 2008 CD Selection I - All or None (CD and DVD)

Video / DVD

  • 1998 Gundermann & Seilschaft: Live in the Tränenpalast (Berlin), VHS (DVD 2009)
  • 1999 Silly + Gundermann & Seilschaft Unplugged

Film music

  • Jonny comes , DEFA for GDR television , youth film, GDR 1988, 105 min. (With Alfons Förster and the Feuerstein brigade), premieres: December 25, 1988 GDR television 1; November 1, 1990 ZDF; 1995 video

Song books

  • The songbook. Published by Mario Ferraro. Buschfunk Musikverlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-931925-34-X (42 Gundermann songs with notes and texts).
  • The songbook part 2. Edited by Mario Ferraro. Buschfunk Musikverlag, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-931925-35-8 (another 49 Gundermann songs with notes and texts).

Tribute albums

  • 2001 The marginal group combo The grass grows again and again - Gundermann plays the marginal group combo (April 12-14 , 2001, Landestheater Tübingen) (2CD)
  • 2004 The marginal group combo Live in East Berlin (CD)
  • 2008 Johan Meijer Hondsdraf (Gundermann songs in Dutch) (CD)
  • 2009 All or None - Tribute to Gerhard Gundermann (June 21, 2008, Columbiahalle Berlin) (2CD, also as DVD)
  • 2011 Huderich Zaungucker - Huderich plays Gundermann (CD)
  • 2013 The marginal group combo Im Postbahnhof Live 2012 (2CD)
  • 2015 Dresen | Prahl and Band Leash Off (CD, also with DVD)
  • 2015 Drama Brigade Leipzig The Drama Brigade Leipzig sings Gundermann (2CD)
  • 2015 Gundis Lieder - Gundis Topics (2CD)
  • 2017 Christian Haase & Mario Ferraro Songs (CD)
  • 2018 Alexander Scheer and band GUNDERMANN - The music for the film (CD, 2LP)
  • 2018 Heiner Kondschak Where stones shrine in the forest at night - Kondschak sings Gundermann (CD)
  • 2019 Steinlandpiraten songs by Gerhard Gundermann (CD)
  • 2019 Huderich Unterm Kirschenbaum - Huderich plays Gundermann (CD)
  • 2020 The rope team - Live in Berlin! (2CD, also as DVD)

Movie

literature

Web links

Commons : Gerhard Gundermann  - Collection of Images
Wikiquote: Gerhard Gundermann  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Andreas Leusink: Gundermann. Ch. Links Verlag , accessed on August 24, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Jeanette Otto: Lost Land, Forgotten Heroes. In: Die Zeit 05/1998. January 23, 1998. Retrieved August 24, 2018 .
  3. ↑ after Grigori Kosonosov, from The Cow in the Propeller by Mikhail Sostschenko
  4. ↑ a b https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/inhalt.az-filmkritik-gundermann-ostalgisch-gesimmen.7f384ff0-6fc1-4d45-a78a-7aac591f7468.html
  5. ↑ https://www.mdr.de/kultur/andreas-dresen-conny-gundermann-mdr-kultur-trifft-100.html
  6. ↑ Here I was born - here my God lost me. Deutschlandfunk, June 24, 2008, accessed December 4, 2014 .
  7. ↑ Steve Koerner: IM Grigori resigns. In: Die Zeit 22/1995. May 26, 1995, accessed December 4, 2014 .
  8. ↑ Reinhard Ständer: “Once in the morning my shoes are empty…” - A life between excavator and stage; from: Folker! Magazine for folk, song and world music. In: gundi.de. January 2005, accessed August 23, 2017 .
  9. ↑ Silly - Reviews at Buschfunk. Retrieved December 4, 2014 .
  10. ^ Gerhard Gundermann: (Future) speech at the congress of entertainers in the GDR on March 1, 1989 ( memento of August 24, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), PDF; 0.3 MB
  11. ↑ "Hoyschrecke" celebrates its 20th birthday . In: Welt Online , November 25, 2016.
  12. ↑ a b Gundermann - Collection & Control Center . Website of the Kulturfabrik Hoyerswerda, accessed on November 27, 2019.
  13. ^ Performance of the fringe group combo with Gundermann songs on December 29, 2009 in the Landestheater Tübingen ; Concert excerpt with two titles (flash video, approx. 7.5 minutes) on youtube.com (Kondschak as lead singer on guitar)
  14. ↑ Portrait - “I wonder: what is normal about life?” Retrieved on August 28, 2018 .
  15. ↑ Caroline Bock: Alexander Scheer plays Gundermann. In: Märkische Allgemeine. October 23, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017 .
  16. ^ Anja Hummel: Gundermann-Film celebrates its premiere in Hoy. In: Lausitzer Rundschau online. July 16, 2018, accessed July 16, 2018 .
  17. ↑ Linda and the Loud Brides - Night music from the open pit. Accessed January 11, 2020 (German).
  18. ↑ Bernard Mangiante: Inventory for business task. In: Documentary History. Retrieved August 3, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Bernard Mangiante: Open despite renovation. In: Documentary History. Retrieved August 3, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Gundermann Revier at kino-zeit.de
personal data
SURNAME Gundermann, Gerhard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gundermann, Gerhard Rüdiger (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German songwriter and rock musician
DATE OF BIRTH February 21, 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Weimar
DATE OF DEATH June 21, 1998
Place of death Spreetal