Hans J. Salter

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Hans Julius Salter (born January 14, 1896 in Vienna , Austria ; † July 23, 1994 in Studio City , Los Angeles , California , USA ) was an Austrian-American conductor and film composer .

Live and act

Background and conducting career

Hans Julius Salter was born on January 14th, 1896 in Vienna. As a high school student, he received his first piano lessons, which he had to finance himself because his parents did not support this interest. He began studying at the Music Academy in Vienna, which he had to interrupt in 1914 because he was called up for military service. After four years at the front, he continued his studies, which he had started in 1918. On the side he earned his income with odd jobs, as he had to support the family after the death of his father and two of his brothers.

His teachers at the Music Academy were Felix Weingartner , Hans Gal , Franz Schreker and, for a short time, Alban Berg . In addition, Salter attended events of the “Society for Modern Music”, where the music of Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler left formative impressions on him.

After completing his studies, Salter embarked on a conducting career, as a life as a composer initially seemed impossible for financial reasons. He was initially a répétiteur , then Kapellmeister at various theaters and finally also at the Volksoper . From the classical opera and operetta repertoire, he learned how music influences the dramaturgical design of a scene. He first came into contact with film during the summer break in the theater in 1922: He conducted the accompanying orchestras of silent film operettas in several Viennese cinemas.

In 1924 Salter moved to Berlin, where he initially remained unemployed and kept his head above water as a rehearsal pianist. He eventually found employment in operettas, including at the Berlin State Opera .

Change to the film industry

In 1928 he received an offer from Werner Schmidt-Boelcke to conduct in the Emelka's famous Berlin cinema , the Capitol . There he was immediately positively received by the criticism and in November 1928 he was committed to the Ufa-Palast am Zoo , which was then the largest cinema in Germany. There he created his first film illustrations and subsequently refined his compilation technique so that even in the short time between receiving the film copy and the first performance he was able to compose music sequences exactly to the length of the scene and rehearse with the orchestra.

With the Hans Salter band , which was repeatedly a guest in the entertainment program of the Berliner Rundfunk, his repertoire expanded to include modern light music and hits. The routine he acquired in the process benefited him when he switched from silent to talkies. Instead of in the cinema, he now conducted the orchestra in the film studio . His creative focus shifted more to composing. Eventually he was promoted to head of the music department at Ufa. By 1933, he worked on 11 sound films.

Emigration and Hollywood career

After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, his work for Ufa came to an end due to his Jewish religious affiliation. He switched to the Vienna and Budapest film industry. He recognized the threat to Austria posed by Germany at an early stage and, with the help of a schoolmate who had emigrated to New York in the 1920s, was able to obtain the necessary affidavits and to emigrate to the United States in 1937 .

When he arrived in Hollywood a little later, there was initially no prospect of employment in film, as the consequences of the global economic crisis caused the film industry to cut staff. He initially earned his living doing odd jobs until his friends Joe Pasternak and Henry Koster gave him a chance at Universal in 1938 . Four and a half minutes of music were missing for The Rage of Paris , which he was supposed to compose and orchestrate within three days. The result was very satisfactory, but the hope of a job at Universal did not materialize for the time being and he had to make do with occasional small jobs. Universal did not sign him until 1939, and Salter initially worked as an orchestrator for Frank Skinner under the head of the Music Department, Charles Previn . Partly together with the two of them, he created the musical background for numerous horror films, including House of Frankenstein and The Wolf Man .

In 1942, Salter received US citizenship. During his career he wrote the score for over 450 films, the vast majority of them in the United States. He ended his career in the late 1960s.

Filmography (selection)

In Germany and Austria

In Hollywood

CDs

Several of Salter's works for universal horror films (together with Skinner, Dessau and Charles Previn) were recorded by William Stromberg in Moscow for the Naxos label, which is also available in Germany.

literature

  • Helmut G. Asper: Something Better Than Death - Film Exile in Hollywood. Schüren Verlag, Marburg 2002, ISBN 3894723629 , pp. 498-516.
  • Hans J. Salter (Interview): "When I came to Hollywood in 1937, the country was still in the deepest depression". In: Christian Cargnelli, Michael Omasta (eds.): Departure into the Unknown. Austrian filmmakers who emigrated before 1945. Wespennest, Vienna 1993.
  • Herbert Martin: Under all flags: Hans J. Salter. Portrait and interview. in: Filmharmonische Blätter. Issue 5 / February 1987, pp. 38-43.
  • Matthias Wiegandt:  Salter, Hans Julius. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 22, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-428-11203-2 , p. 398 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Kay Less : 'In life, more is taken from you than given ...'. Lexicon of filmmakers who emigrated from Germany and Austria between 1933 and 1945. A general overview. P. 436 ff., ACABUS-Verlag, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-86282-049-8

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Salter, Hans J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Salter, Hans Julius (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian-American conductor and film composer
DATE OF BIRTH January 14, 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna , Austria
DATE OF DEATH July 23, 1994
Place of death Los Angeles , California, USA