Kurt Schaffer

Kurt Schaffer (born April 26, 1928 in Vienna-Landstrasse ; † October 16, 2013 ) was an Austrian folk music singer , jazz musician , multi-instrumentalist and songwriter .

Life

Kurt Schaffer's grave

Kurt Schaffer grew up in a family with twelve siblings. From his grandparents, his mother and his aunts, he learned an extensive repertoire of alpine music and the Viennese song as a toddler . In 1942 he began an apprenticeship as a spring fitter. He had his first concert appearance as early as 1943 before he was called up for military service in the Reichswehr in 1944 . After he was released from brief Soviet captivity in August 1945, he played, like many young musicians at the time, in dance orchestras and American officers' clubs as an electric guitarist and singer. From the income he financed his studies at what was then the Horak Conservatory for Music, Dance and Dramatic Art . At the time, he expanded his program to include Hawaiian guitar, jazz and evergreens. From 1951 he toured as a guitarist, bassist and drummer with the King Trio through Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy and Switzerland. During Expo 58 he played with the Eduard Macku Orchestra in Brussels for several months. In his memories, Schaffer felt it was an important time to have got to know a diverse repertoire through these engagements. From 1963, however, he only devoted himself to folk music. Together with Lothar Steup and Franz Belay , he released several long-playing records as the 3 Grinzinger in the 1970s and had several television appearances. They received a gold record for Schaffer's song Yes, so were my people . He played with various musicians before meeting Walter Hojsa . With Hosja he played mainly in wine taverns until the end of his life . In doing so, they not only made music, but also attached great importance to an overall dramaturgy with real Viennese humor and entertainment. On the occasion of the presentation of his last CD, the Vienna district newspaper called him and Hojsa "a piece of cultural property". Schaffer had been the holder of the Golden Medal of Merit of the State of Vienna since March 2001 .

He died in October 2013. His grave is in the Stammersdorfer Zentralfriedhof (group 6, row 5, number 31).

As a songwriter

From the mid-1960s, Schaffer composed and wrote lyrics in the field of folk music for other artists such as Christl Prager .

Discography

• 2010: Hojsa, you can do it! ( Compilation together with Walter Hojsa)

Web links

• Photo album with pictures by Kurt Schaffer

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Presentation of the CD Hojsa, des schaff 'ma! ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on November 20, 2014) 
2. ↑ Excerpt from the CD booklet: Hojsa, des schaff 'ma! (accessed on November 20, 2014)
3. ^ Wiener Bezirkszeitung: Wienerlied legend from the Danube city: Kurt Schaffer (accessed on November 20, 2014)
4. ↑ Announcement of the funeral ( memento of the original dated November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.