Hermann Schmidt (Chief Music Officer for the Army)

Hermann Theodor Gottlieb Schmidt (born March 9, 1885 in Gera ; † October 5, 1950 in Berlin-Tempelhof ) was a German conductor , chief music officer for the German Reichswehr and Wehrmacht, and professor at the State Academic University of Music in Berlin . He was the author of the Army Printing Regulations (H.Dv. 34) directory “German Army Marches” and the editor of several German Army marches.

biography

Imperial Army

Hermann Schmidt was born on March 9, 1885 in Gera . He was the ninth child among twelve siblings in the family of a Reichsbahn official . Schmidt received his first violin lessons from the town musician Hartung and then attended a music school in Ronneburg . On April 1, 1903 Schmidt joined the infantry regiment von Wittich (3rd Kurhessische) No. 83 , which was stationed in Kassel . The young musician was appointed concertmaster of the music corps with the secondary instrument 1st clarinet. In addition, Schmidt was constantly involved as a musician in the orchestra of the Hessian State Theater, which was not least achieved with the help of the court conductor Professor Dr. Beyer was made possible. In 1909 Schmidt was assigned to study at the Royal Academic University of Music in Charlottenburg , from which he graduated with the distinction of excellent qualification. On April 1, 1913, Hermann Schmidt was appointed music master and moved to the Fusilier Regiment General Field Marshal Graf Moltke (Silesian) No. 38 in Glatz . The nearby health resorts and baths opened up excellent opportunities for the concert activities of the music corps, which not only earned Schmidt the reputation of a talented orchestra conductor. Numerous appearances have also made him a talented soloist and a sought-after violin teacher.

First World War

During the First World War , Hermann Schmidt served his regiment, for which he later received six war awards, including the Iron Cross First Class and other decorations.

Reichswehr

After the war, Schmidt was briefly engaged as music master in the music corps of the Wroclaw Security Police in 1920 , where he distinguished himself through lively concert activities, also in competition with two symphony orchestras. His directing by heart was noticeable at his open-air concerts. Schmidt then moved to the music corps of the training battalion of the 14th (Baden) Infantry Regiment of the Reichswehr with the garrison in Donaueschingen . As a conductor, he and his orchestra took an active part in the Donaueschingen music festivals , where he performed his own works and conducted works by well-known composers such as Paul Hindemith , Ernst Krenek and Ernst Toch . Schmidt also emerged as a pianist, clarinetist and violinist. In 1927 he was transferred to the music corps of III. Battalion of the 10th (Saxon) Infantry Regiment in Dresden , where he and his 24-man music corps took part in the changing of the guard and concerts in front of the log cabin . Thanks to his acquaintance with the Saxon marching music there, a number of Saxon presentation and parade marches were later processed and included in the "German Army Marches" directory . In November 1929 Schmidt was promoted to senior music master.

After the death of Oskar Hackenberger , Hermann Schmidt became a teacher of music master training on December 6, 1929 at the State Academic University of Music in Berlin-Charlottenburg . In 1930 he became Hackenberger's successor in the post of army music officer.

Wehrmacht

In 1933, Army Music Officer Schmidt compiled the first version of the “German Army Marches” directory , which was based on the existing Prussian Army March collection . The first instructions for the compilation of an army march collection to replace the army march collection, which was too voluminous at the time, were issued by the Reichswehr Ministry as early as 1925, but were ignored by Schmidt's predecessors. The new collection excluded 218 obsolete and forgotten pieces, was supplemented with new pieces of marching music from Bavaria and Saxony and renumbered. In addition, Schmidt continued to publish the printed parts for official use in the army and in 1933 published the 4th series of the printed army march scores. As early as the following year, the first changes were made at the suggestion of the Reichswehr Ministry: As a result, the marches associated with Jewish composers disappeared from the directory , especially several marches based on motifs or from the operas by Giacomo Meyerbeer and Jacques Offenbach . On December 15, 1933, Schmidt was appointed professor for composition and composition at the Berlin University of Music . In the same year he became a member of the honorary committee of the Deutsche Musik-Premieren-Bühne eV in Dresden .

The establishment of the Wehrmacht also required the establishment of several new music corps among the troops, which was difficult due to the competition on the part of the National Socialist associations and organizations, which also had to meet a need for brass bands , and required the maintenance of the musical core. However, this process did not always go smoothly, because the qualitative difference between the army music corps remained to a certain extent. This increase in the number of military orchestras required the creation of a second stage manager position, which Professor Adolf Berdien had held since 1936. The climax of this achievement was the creation of the regulations for the music and trumpet corps of the army , which laid down the professional status of the military musicians, the handling of the instruments and the basis of the drill service for the music corps. Thus, the infantry and hunter regiments were supported by the music corps of 37 men ( 47 men in the Berlin guard regiment ), the infantry, hunter and engineer battalions as well as the cavalry and artillery regiments by the music and trumpet corps of 27 men Available. Another task was to preserve the traditional army and infantry music against the emerging, newly organized air force music played by air force music inspector Hans Felix Husadel , which Schmidt mastered through numerous concerts and the creation of new works. Another achievement was the revival of hunter music , which was used by the hunters and mountain troops (with the exception of the mountain artillery, which had trumpet corps). For this genre of music, new instruments were developed and procured, first attempts were made in the college classes at the Hochschule für Musik , and new horn signals were established. Schmidt also set up the new genre of military music, namely tank music, which reflects the increasing motorization of the tank weapon through the appropriate instrumental composition (above all first through the kettledrum , later through the reinforced infantry striking mechanism, i.e. double and triple pairs of cymbals ) and the new sharp ones Should reflect the sound. Among other things, Army Music Officer Hermann Schmidt also organized the major concerts for the Wehrmacht. The most striking example of this was a monster concert on the occasion of the Olympic Games on August 13, 1936, in which 1777 military musicians and 1,406 soldiers took part and for which Professor Schmidt and Professor Husadel took over the direction. During the concert tour of the German music corps to Rome in 1938, Schmidt again developed his organizational talent. On October 1, 1938, Schmidt was promoted to chief music officer. During the Second World War he directed the musical radio events and concerts, including a major Wehrmacht concert in occupied Paris on July 9, 1940. However, the army music masters were increasingly used as troop officers during the course of the war. Most of the Army Music Corps were disbanded in March 1944, only the music corps at division level were maintained in strength of one music master and 27 musicians. All other music officers and soldiers were therefore sent to the front.

As a result of the increase in the armed forces, Schmidt, as a professor, had to reckon with the influx of newer music master candidates at the Berlin University of Music , which led to the relaxation of the entrance exams in 1935, because the command authorities of the new Wehrmacht also demanded that all candidates be accepted as fully as possible to meet the need for military conductors to cover the music corps of the new Wehrmacht. This meant that substitute measures had to be taken, such as commissioning capable corps elders to lead the orchestra or reactivating older music masters. In the next few years 1936 and 1937, the entrance exams were again held strictly, so that about 1/3 and 1/4 of the candidates were screened out, with a repeat examination being permitted in some cases. In addition, from 1935 the training of music masters at the Luftwaffe became independent , although the future music masters of the Luftwaffe were also trained at the State University of Music in Berlin . In addition to their studies, the students also made public appearances in both wind and string ensembles or as a male choir and recorded records , which lasted into the first years of the war. In the course of the lecture evenings, which were organized under Schmidt's direction, not only the classical program with the works of Mozart , Rachmaninoff or Weber in the processing of the future graduates at the university, but also contemporary works, including the compositions from the pen of Schmidt. The examinees did not only have to master the standard knowledge of harmony, voice guidance or conducting. The ability to perform piano pieces (usually easier piano sonatas ) and to master at least one orchestral instrument by means of a solo performance during the examination were also examined. The candidates were also subject to military service training according to the drill regulations depending on the genre of army music, including in such areas as the punctuation for the music corps, swinging in and out of the military parades , carrying out the signals or riding for the music masters of the mounted ones Troops, for which the music corps of the Berlin garrison were made available to the students. However, some students complained about a strict, even musically conservative regiment that Schmidt led in his class. Furthermore, on November 25, 1935, the Army’s first military music school was opened in Bückeburg to train military musicians, also in the presence of the Army Music Officer. After the beginning of the Second World War - in contrast to the First World War - there was no interruption of classes at the university, although military training was expanded due to the war without significantly affecting the level of musical instruction. The number of candidates gradually decreased in the course of the war, also due to the assignment to the fighting troops. The last music master examination took place in October 1944, then all music master courses were terminated on October 28, 1944 with the transfer of the last students to the front, to Grenadier Replacement Battalion 9 . Although Schmidt was already retired at the end of the war and was considered a civilian, he was still treated as a prisoner of war and ended up in Soviet captivity, from which he was released after some time.

Hermann Schmidt died of a stroke on October 5, 1950 in Berlin-Tempelhof . His estate is in the archive of the State Institute for Music Research Berlin .

Works (selection)

Works for wind orchestra

• 1933 Cherusker call (fanfare march)
• 1933 Heroic Overture , for military music
• 1933 With joyful courage (parade march of the motor vehicle combat troops)
• 1933 Loyalty to the Saxony (March)
• 1934 March on the song " People to the Gun " (Heeresmarsch III A, 68)
• 1936 Aufklang (a series of army music for fanfare trumpets , hunting horns and minstrels ad libitum)
• 1936 The minstrels of the guard troop march
• 1936 Jagd-Idyll , for hunting horns and hunter music
• 1937 clarinet concert
• 1937 Führer fanfare in B flat major and E flat major , for military music
• 1937 Panzer-Reiter-Marsch (Army March III A, 70)
• 1937 Parade march of the anti-tank department 40
• 1938 Fantasy on four German songs , for wind orchestra
• 1938 Mountaineer (March)
• 1939 Storming Youth (March)
• 1939 Vistula and Warta (March of the Germans in Poland)
• 1940 tank march
• 1941 Big tattoo of the hunters
• German equestrian fanfare (Army March III A, 59)
• Concerto for clarinet and orchestra
• Music for a winter fairy tale
• Nocturnal army show (symphonic poem)

Songs

• 1933 What our Reichswehr is singing! (Vocal potpourri)
• 1935 What the Labor Service Sings (Potpourri)
• 1938 What the Wehrmacht sings (potpourri for choir and music corps)
• 1939 We walked long since

literature

• Schmidt, Hermann. In: Fred K. Prieberg: Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 . PDF on CD-ROM. Kiel 2004, pp. 6199-6206.
• Werner Probst: Loyalty to the Saxon March by Prof. Hermann Schmidt . In: Koblenz - Our garrison. The Army Music Corps 5 plays marching rarities . Supplement to the long-playing record with the same title No. 1810. Abenberg 1983, unpaginated.

Web links

Audio samples

• Loyalty to the Saxons on YouTube , recorded by Army Music Corps 5, Koblenz; Head: Lieutenant Colonel Georg Czerner.
• Helmstadt March on YouTube , recorded by the Reichswehr military orchestra; Head: Army Music Officer Hermann Schmidt.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Certificate for Hermann Theodor Gottlieb Schmidt for the appointment of chief musician as army music officer, issued by the Reich President von Hindenburg
2. ↑ Army March Collection . In: Heinz Busch: From the Army March to the Great Zapfenstreich. A lexicon on the history of German military music . Bonn 2005, p. 13.
3. ↑ Joachim Toeche-Mittler: Army marches . Part II: Collection and Documentation . Neckargemünd 1977, p. 17
4. ↑ Peter Panoff: military music, past and present . Berlin 1938, p. 175.
5. ↑ Jäger und Schützen, Musik der ... In: Heinz Busch: From Army March to Big Zapfenstreich. A lexicon on the history of German military music . Bonn 2005, p. 85f.
6. ↑ Heinz Busch: Efficient conductors, exemplary soldiers. On the role of the Academy of Music in Berlin in the training of young music masters . Part 2. In: With sounding game 26 (3), 2003, p. 15.
7. ↑ mass concerts, large concerts . In: Heinz Busch: From the Army March to the Great Zapfenstreich. A lexicon on the history of German military music . Bonn 2005, p. 109.
8. ^ Bernhard Höfele: The German military music. A contribution to their history. Cologne 1999, p. 195.
9. ↑ Heinz Busch: Efficient conductors, exemplary soldiers. On the role of the Academy of Music in Berlin in the training of young music masters . Part 2. In: With sounding game 26 (3), 2003, pp. 12-17.
10. ^ Manfred Heidler: Chief Musician Kurt Schroeder (1908–1943). A picture of life . Part 1. In: With sounding game 25 (1), 2002, p. 9.
11. ↑ Wilhelm PBR Saris: The music schools of the Wehrmacht 1935-1945 . Part 1. In: With sounding game 25 (3), 2002, p. 24.
12. ↑ Heinz Busch: Efficient conductors, exemplary soldiers. On the role of the Academy of Music in Berlin in the training of young music masters . Part 2. In: With sounding game 26 (3), 2003, p. 13.
13. ^ Hermann Schmidt estate overview of the holdings on the website of the Kalliope network .