Hugo Hirsch

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Hugo Hirsch (born March 12, 1884 in Birnbaum , Province of Posen ; † August 16, 1961 in Berlin ) was a German-Jewish operetta and pop composer.

Life

Grave site , Koenigin-Luise-Strasse 57, in Berlin-Dahlem

After graduating from high school, Hugo Hirsch began to study medicine in Breslau . It wasn't long, however, before he realized that the profession of doctor was out of the question for him. The music haunted his head far too much for that. He decided to turn his hobby into a profession. He found a place to study at the Conservatory in Szczecin . Afterwards he moved to Berlin, where he continued his studies with Johannes Doebber.

Hugo Hirsch had studied music seriously, but he did not want to devote himself to serious music. The melodies flew to him, which is why he preferred to put himself in the service of the so-called light muse. The need for cheerful stage works in the German Empire in the second and third decades of the 20th century grew steadily. Hugo Hirsch was just 28 years old when his first operettas took place in Breslau and Düsseldorf . The collaboration with Otto Reutter , who was very popular at the time and for whom he set some of his texts to music, for example, don't go to Berlin , turned out to be fruitful . He set the lyrics to music for Trude Hesterberg. What did you always poke my blouse? And who's going to cry when you part with someone else on the next corner ?, a hit that you still occasionally hear on the radio these days.

In 1923 Hugo Hirsch was given a particular success. His operetta Der Fürst von Pappenheim was released under the title Toni in London's Shaftesbury Theater and managed to be performed for more than a year in a row. But that's not all; two years later he reached the zenith of his career: in 1925 four Berlin theaters played his operettas at the same time. The royalties were abundant and enabled him to live a financially worry-free life. Like Rossini in the past , he devoted himself almost exclusively to his private life. Although he continued to come up with lively melodies, he left the orchestration to others. One of his collaborators at the time was the young Franz Grothe , who would later become a famous composer himself.

When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, Hugo Hirsch was forced to emigrate. The first stop of his asylum was London. He then lived with his wife for some time in Belgium and finally in France. After the Second World War ended, he returned to Germany. He died on August 16, 1961 in Berlin and was buried in the Dahlem cemetery.

Works (selection)

  • The divorce journey, musical fluctuation in three acts, premiered in 1918 at the German Art Theater in Berlin
  • The great Lola, operetta in three acts, premiered in 1919 at the New Operetta Theater in Berlin
  • The first night, musical fluctuation in three acts, premiered on June 1, 1922 at the German Art Theater in Berlin
  • The Prince of Pappenheim, operetta in three acts, premiered on February 6, 1923 at the German Art Theater in Berlin
  • The blonde dream, an operetta in three acts, premiered on March 5, 1925 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin
  • Monsieur Troulala, satire in 3 acts, first performance in 1925 at the German Art Theater in Berlin
  • Miss Mama, comedy with music in 3 acts, first performance in 1928 at the German Art Theater in Berlin

Sound samples

Film adaptations

Filmography (selection)

  • 1924: Rags and silk (Hugo Hirsch composed the song “Shimmy” as the title melody)

literature

Web links

Commons : Hugo Hirsch  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Review: Henry Larsson on October 6, 2012 on info-netz-musik ; accessed on December 1, 2014
personal data
SURNAME Hirsch, Hugo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German operetta and hit composer
DATE OF BIRTH March 12, 1884
PLACE OF BIRTH Pear tree today Poland
DATE OF DEATH August 16, 1961
Place of death Berlin