Hermann Leopoldi

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Memorial plaque for Hermann Leopoldi (Vienna-Meidling, Schönbrunner Strasse 219)

Hermann Leopoldi (born August 15, 1888 in Gaudenzdorf , Meidling-Schönbrunner Strasse (today Vienna , 12th district, Schönbrunner Strasse 219) as Hersch Kohn ; † June 28, 1959 Vienna, 9th district, Mariannengasse 10 ( Poliklinik )) was a Austrian composer , cabaret artist and piano humorist .

Life

“At the piano: Leopoldi from the Savoy-Bar in Vienna”, Baden , 1913

His father Leopold Kohn - the family name was officially changed to Leopoldi in 1911 - was a musician and taught his sons Ferdinand (1886–1944) and Hermann to play the piano. He also tried to get engagements for the two; In 1904 Hermann went into his first engagement as a piano accompanist, later he became Kapellmeister , bar pianist and soon piano humorist and composer.

In 1911 he married Eugenie Kraus (1894–1982), and the marriage resulted in two children, Norbert (1912–1992) and Gertrude (1915–1992). At the beginning of the First World War he moved in and soon worked as a piano humorist and Kapellmeister in the front variety. In 1916 he made his first major appearance at the Ronacher establishment in Vienna . After the First World War, the need for entertainment was great, and accordingly the Leopoldi brothers were also very busy artists. In 1922 they finally opened the cabaret “Leopoldi-Wiesenthal”, or “LW” for short, in Rothgasse 5 in the first district of Vienna, together with the conférencier Fritz Wiesenthal . The restaurant soon became known far beyond the country's borders. In addition to Leopoldi-Wiesenthal, Charlotte Waldow , Franzi Ressel , Armin Berg , Hans Moser , Szöke Szakall , Max Hansen , Fritz Grünbaum , Karl Valentin or Raoul Aslan and Otto Tressler performed more or less regularly . In 1925, however, they had to close the restaurant for financial reasons; none of the operators had ever learned to trade. Then she made guest appearances in Berlin , in Switzerland and undertook tours.

Hermann Leopoldi slowly became one of the most popular song composers and lecturers. He created the music for Viennese songs and chansons , set texts by Peter Herz , Rudolf Skutajan , “Salpeter” (the first time Karl Pollach), Theodor Waldau , Robert Katscher , Fritz Löhner-Beda , Fritz Rotter and Hanns Haller . His stage partner from 1929 was Betja Milskaja , a native of Russia. Together they made guest appearances in Berlin , Paris , Budapest , Bucharest , Prague , Karlsbad and of course Vienna .

Memorial plaque on the house at Marxergasse 25 in Vienna-Landstrasse
Letter from Hermann Leopoldi from Buchenwald Concentration Camp to Eugenie Leopoldi (January 1939)

In order to escape the imminent " Anschluss of Austria " on March 11, 1938, both of them drove to Brno that night to an already planned performance on March 12 . The train, already overcrowded with refugees, including Fritz Grünbaum , was stopped at the Czech border. Edvard Beneš had the border closed to refugees, and so everyone was sent back. On April 26, 1938, Leopoldi and his wife had already prepared entry into the USA , he was brought from his apartment to the police station for "information", from there to the emergency prison in Karajangasse and then transferred to the Dachau concentration camp , where he was was imprisoned together with Fritz Grünbaum, Paul Morgan and Fritz Löhner-Beda . In September 1938 they were deported to Buchenwald concentration camp . It was there that the Buchenwald song was written, for which he composed the music based on the text by Löhner-Beda. According to Peter Diem , the melody for the so-called Dollfußlied ( song of youth ) comes from Alois Dostal (Vienna 1878–1953 Vienna) and not from Leopoldi, to whom it was widely attributed. Lyricist and composer performed under the pseudonym Austriacus ; It was also attributed to Hermann Leopoldi by the National Socialists, who was held in the concentration camp until Rudolf Henz confirmed as a witness that Leopoldi had nothing to do with the Dollfuss song.

In the meantime, his wife, who was already in the USA, and her parents Leopoldi were able to “ransom” and sent an affidavit . He reached New York via Hamburg , where he was expected by family and reporters. Immediately after stepping on American soil, he kissed it, an image that went around the world. This beginning helped him get into the American entertainment business. Soon he was performing his Viennese songs in “Eberhardt's Café Grinzing” in New York, where he met Helly Möslein , who later became his stage and life partner. With the also emigrated lyricists like Robert Gilbert , Kurt Robitschek , Arthur Berger and also with Helly Möslein, Leopoldi's repertoire was adapted to the new language. With I am a quiet Drinker and A Little Café Down the Street , both of them were soon able to give their own performances in German-speaking New York exile cafes, such as the “Old Vienna” or the “Viennese Lantern”, and in other cities in the USA with great success.

After the end of the war and at the invitation of the then Minister of Education Hurdes and the Vienna City Councilor for Culture Matejka , Leopoldi and Möslein returned to Vienna in 1947. Leopoldi was able to continue where he was suddenly interrupted in 1938. Bars, vaudeville shows, and entertainment venues rallied for him, and he toured Austria, Germany and Switzerland together with Möslein. In 1955 a son Ronald was born to him and Möslein.

His honorary grave is located in the Vienna Central Cemetery (Group 15C, Row 2, No. 18), where his partner Helly Möslein is also buried.

Awards

Works

Leopoldi's work includes hundreds of chansons and hits. Here is a small selection:

  • In a small café in Hernals (Text: Peter Herz)
  • It's best to have a permanent employee (Text: Peter Herz)
  • The health insurance patient (Text: Hanns Haller)
  • I'm a quiet reveler (text: saltpeter)
  • At the tusks in the upper layer (text: Rudolf Skutajan)
  • Schnucki, oh Schnucki (Text: Rudolf Skutajan)
  • A good drop, three times a day (text: saltpeter)
  • I am an incorrigible optimist (Text: Robert Katscher and Erwin W. Spahn; music together with Robert Katscher)
  • The Novaks from Prague (Text: Kurt Robitschek)
  • It’s nice to play a game of stripes' (Text: Peter Herz)
  • Powidltatschkerln (Text: Rudolf Skutajan)
  • Today the Uridil plays (Text: Robert Katscher and Hermann Leopoldi, Music: Oskar Steiner and Oskar Virag)
  • 32 Groschen ... (Text: Erwin W. Spahn)
  • Jedlersee (text: saltpeter)

Appreciation

“When I remember Hermann Leopldi and Helly Möslein, I first think of the time in New York during the war, when I got to know them through Robert Stolz .
For all of us, Leopoldi was somehow a being from another planet, having survived the horror of the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps thanks to a rescue that bordered on miracles.
He has retained his belief in the good in people and has remained an optimist who has given many courage and confidence in difficult times. [...]
Hermann Leopoldi was a terrific pianist with international success, who was able to elicit the most wonderful notes from the piano, and Helly Möslein was an enthusiastic singer as an extremely sensitive singer.
Both complemented each other in their art and were a highly professional couple with every opportunity for a great career in America. But, just as with Robert Stolz, homesickness was stronger for them too, and the return to Vienna, to the home they dreamed of for so long, meant more to them than fame and success abroad. The best, unadulterated Vienneseism lives in his songs ”. (Single pride)

Others

  • The District Museum Meidling has got with its Hermann Leopoldi archive one of the most comprehensive collection on the life and work of Hermann Leopoldis.
  • In Vienna-Meidling (Arndtstrasse / Mandlgasse), the Hermann-Leopoldi-Park has been bearing his name since June 1984 , and the Hermann-Leopoldi-Weg since 2002 . (The neighboring path that runs parallel is called Helly Möslein-Weg .)

literature

  • Hans Weiss, Ronald Leopoldi (eds.): Hermann Leopoldi and Helly Möslein. "In a small café in Hernals ...". A picture biography . With a catalog raisonné by Vladimira and Hans Werner Broußka. Edition Trend S, Vienna undated (1992), ISBN 3-7015-1001-6 .
  • Felix Czeike (Ed.): Historisches Lexikon Wien . Volume 4, Kremayr & Scheriau, Vienna 1995, ISBN 3-218-00546-9 , p. 32f.
  • Christian Klösch, Regine Thumser: "From Vienna". Cabaret in exile in New York 1938 to 1950 . Picus, Vienna 2002, ISBN 3-85452-463-3 , p. 31f.
  • Monika Kornberger: Leopoldi, Hermann. In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 3, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-7001-3045-7 ., As of May 6, 2001
  • Franziska Ernst: Hermann Leopoldi: Biography of a Jewish-Austrian entertainer and composer . Diploma thesis at the Faculty of History and Cultural Studies of the University of Vienna, 2010 ( online version )
  • Ronald Leopoldi (Ed.): Leopoldiana . Collected works by Hermann Leopoldi and 11 songs by Ferdinand Leopoldi in two volumes. Doblinger, Vienna 2011, ISBN 978-3-902667-23-6 (Contributions to Viennese Music Volume 2, edited by the Wiener Volksliedwerk).
  • Georg Traska, Christoph Lind: Hermann Leopoldi, Hersch Kohn. A biography. Mandelbaum Verlag, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-85476-383-3 .
  • Elisabeth Leopoldi: Hermann Leopoldi. Composer - Viennese piano humorist - incorrigible optimist. Hentrich & Hentrich Verlag, Berlin Leipzig, 2019, ISBN 978-3-95565-318-7 .

Grades (selection)

  • Ronald Leopoldi (Ed.): Leopoldiana . Collected works by Hermann Leopoldi and 11 songs by Ferdinand Leopoldi in two volumes. Doblinger, Vienna 2011, ISBN 978-3-902667-23-6 (Contributions to Viennese Music Volume 2, edited by the Wiener Volksliedwerk).
  • Reinhard Wallner (Hrsg.): Viennese bar pianists music for dinner and cocktail bar. (Contains the following Leopoldi works: It is best to have a permanent employee, In a small cafè in Hernals, Schnucki oh Schnucki, Nice is such a ring game) 1st edition. Volume 3, Barmusik Records Trumau 2013, ISBN 978-3-200-03143-2 , p. 230.

Web links

Commons : Hermann Leopoldi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Memorial plaque on the house
  2. ^ According to the entry in Czeike, Historisches Lexikon Wien , Volume 4. P. 32f.
    The membership card of the International Artist Organization issued in 1919 reads “Hermann Leopoldi”, see Weiss / Leopoldi: “In a small café in Hernals”. S. 14.
    Other authors give 1921 as the year of the name change.
  3. ↑ Leopoldi-Wiesenthal. In:  Die Bühne , born 1924, issue 1/1924, p. 25, center right. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / bue.
  4. ↑ ÖKA Austrian Cabaret Archive : Hermann LEOPOLDI (Hermann Kohn)
  5. ↑ see: "Karajangasse Memorial" ( Memento from August 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ): In the school in Brigittenau, the Gestapo had set up the prison in the cellar in which Leopoldi was imprisoned along with many other celebrities.
  6. ↑ The Buchenwald Song ( Memento from April 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ from: Hermann Leopoldi and Helly Möslein. “In a small café in Hernals ...” Vienna 1992; slightly shortened.
  8. ↑ Vladimira Bousska (Red.): Hermann Leopoldi Archive . In: bezirksmuseum.at , accessed on February 16, 2019.
  9. ↑ Hermann Leopoldi-Park Rathauskorrespondenz from November 11, 2002 (accessed on May 31, 2010)
  10. ↑ http://regiowiki.at/index.php?title=Wiener_Bar_Pianisten

Remarks

  1. ↑ Savoy-Bar , Himmelpfortgasse 27, Vienna-Innere Stadt .
personal data
SURNAME Leopoldi, Hermann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kohn, Hersch (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian composer, cabaret artist and piano humorist
DATE OF BIRTH August 15, 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Gaudenzdorf
DATE OF DEATH June 28, 1959
Place of death Vienna