Heinz Munsonius

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Heinz Munsonius (born September 7, 1910 in Berlin ; † February 23, 1963 ) was a German accordionist , arranger , composer and band leader of the swing era. Together with Albert Vossen and Will Glahé, he was part of the “triumvirate of great accordionists” in Germany from the 1930s to the 1950s.

Live and act

At the age of 14, Munsonius began training as a typesetter at the request of his parents ; he also took piano and music theory lessons . When he during the Great Depression was in his profession no work, he sought his livelihood as a virtuoso on the piano accordion. He began as a soloist for a musical clown who toured the vaudeville stages in Europe as the comic strip character "Adamson". The music industry soon became aware of Munsonius' accordion playing; eventually he was signed by the Kristall / Imperial record company.

From the late 1930s Munsonius directed his own studio ensemble in Berlin ( Heinz Munsonius with his soloists ), which made recordings for the Kristall label and until mid-1943 for Imperial. In addition to instrumental numbers, these included songs, etc. a. with the singers Rudi Schuricke ( Stern von Rio , Imperial 17307), Günter Blumberg ( Farewell, Adieu, goodbye ), Erwin Hartung ( Psst Blondine / Dort an der Mühle ), and the singer Anita Spada ( Song of a young guard .) as well as with the Günther Arndt Children's Choir ( The Happy Wanderer ). Helmuth Friedrich , Helmut Zacharias , Fred Pelzer , Willy Berendt , Karl Grassnick , Heinz Glagau , Freddie Brocksieper , Franz Teddy Kleindin and Charly Tabor played in his band . During this time he also worked as a musician for recordings by Michael Jary and his orchestra (Odeon, 1939). Some of his compositions, such as “Techtelmechtel”, have also been interpreted by other orchestras, such as that of Will Glahé. His compositions and many arrangements for accordion appeared in the form of sheet music. At that time Munsonius worked in close friendship with the musician and composer Heinz Gerlach (dancing fingers) until the two were drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1943 , where Munsonius worked as an accordion virtuoso in the troop support .

In the post-war period Munsonius formed an orchestra again, with which he recorded from May 1947 for Odeon (with the Elskamp Brothers , Home on the Range , 1947), Amiga ( gossips ) and still in 1953 for Telefunken . In the field of jazz he was involved in 48 recording sessions between 1938 and 1953.

Heinz Munsonius died in 1963 at the age of 52 from the effects of jaundice that he contracted during the Russian campaign . He was buried in the Zehlendorf forest cemetery in Berlin. The grave has not been preserved.

Discographic notes

  • Heinz Munsonius and his soloists: The accordion virtuoso 1939-43 . (EMI / Odeon)
  • The great German dance orchestras - Heinz Munsonius and his soloists

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Portrait at Grammophon Platten
  2. ↑ Odeon O31.789b
  3. ↑ Imperial 19247
  4. ↑ The Song of Lili and the Others in Die Zeit (1978)
  5. ↑ Decca D 43832
  6. ↑ Will Glahé and his accordion orchestra: Techtelmechtel (Electrola EG 6225)
  7. ↑ u. a. under the titles Der Meistersolist on the piano accordion: Heinz Munsonius , Edition Standard Musikverlag; Heinz Munsonius - The golden dance album for young people , Volume 8, Hans Gerig music publisher, Cologne 1956; This and that by Heinz Munsonius (sheet music for accordion) , Josef Preissler, Munich; Sounds from Vienna - Viennese Melodies for Accordion , Volume 1
  8. ↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed March 24, 2016)
  9. ^ Hans-Jürgen Mende: Lexicon of Berlin burial places . Pharus-Plan, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-86514-206-1 , p. 637.
personal data
SURNAME Munsonius, Heinz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German musician, composer and band leader
DATE OF BIRTH September 7, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH February 23, 1963