Martin Böttcher

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Martin Böttcher (2002)

Martin Hermann Böttcher (born June 17, 1927 in Berlin ; † April 20, 2019 in Westerrönfeld ; pseudonyms: Michael Thomas , Renardo ) was a German film composer , conductor and arranger . In a period of over 60 years he wrote the music for more than 50 films and 300 television productions. Böttcher achieved great fame and chart success in the 1960s with his music for the Karl May films .

life and work

youth

Martin Böttcher is the great-grandson of a Weimar court conductor and acquired musical knowledge at an early age through piano lessons . Initially, however, he wanted to become a pilot . Almost 17 years old, he was trained in the air force during the war . However, it was no longer used due to a lack of fuel. While he was a prisoner of war , Böttcher was able to organize a guitar and learn to play the guitar himself. Martin Böttcher had been deaf in his left ear since he was four years old due to an accident with a fractured skull base and a crushing of the auditory nerve.

The jazz guitarist

After his release from captivity, he went to Hamburg . There, Martin Böttcher played guitar under Alfred Heimat and Franz Thon in the dance and entertainment orchestra of the then Northwest German Broadcasting Corporation , newly formed by Willi Steiner , which was mentioned with respect even in big-band- spoiled England. In addition, Böttcher acquired his musical skills from General Music Director Richard Richter and in the field of popular music from Kurt Weg . He also played in the small line-ups of Kurt Weg and Günter Fuhlisch , with Benny de Weille and Helmut Zacharias .

His preferred music genre was initially jazz , where Martin Böttcher managed to rise to number 2 in the German jazz poll as a guitarist . During this time he already gained experience as an arranger for film composers such as Michael Jary and Hans-Martin Majewski , for whom he arranged parts of the music for the film Liebe 47 .

Work for the film

EP from the soundtrack of the film Die Riot , 1956

Böttcher began writing arrangements as early as 1946. In 1954 he said goodbye to the NWDR and switched from the music desk to sketch paper. Thanks to producer Artur Brauner , Böttcher made his debut in 1955 with the music for the military satire Der Hauptmann und seine Held . He wrote his second film music for a milestone in German post-war film: Die Halbstarken (1956) by Georg Tressler , in the leading role Horst Buchholz . His specially founded formation Mister Martin's Band played , in which musicians such as the clarinetist Fatty George , the vibraphonist Bill Grah , the trombonist Ernst Mosch and, still as "Hans Last", the bassist James Last played.

Martin Böttcher wrote three songs for Hans Albers in 13 kleine Esel und der Sonnenhof (1958), as well as the music for Heinz Rühmann's Pater Brown films The Black Sheep and He Can't Leave It . In Max, the pickpocket , the tune Hawaii Tattoo , which was previously written under the pseudonym "Michael Thomas" and quickly became world-famous, was used, which later also rose to the American Billboard charts .

In addition, Böttcher wrote chansons for Françoise Hardy , Romy Schneider , Peggy March , Elisabeth Flickenschildt and others. On February 6, 1960, Martin Böttcher took part in the German final for the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne with the title Oh, how beautiful . The title was sung by the Belgian entertainer Tony Sandler , who later made a career in Las Vegas . The song struck a respectable performance in a leading position, it won but "Bonne nuit, ma cherie" by Wyn Hoop ago , we never want to go apart from Heidi Brühl . Wyn Hoop's title came fourth in the actual Grand Prix Eurovision .

In 1967 Oswalt Kolle produced the first educational film Oswalt Kolle: The miracle of love in Germany. Martin Böttcher was commissioned to compose the background music. The title was then rejected by the film's scientific advisor, sex researcher Hans Giese, as "not hypothermic enough" (he feared that the male audience might get carried away with indecent acts). But the music was not lost. Kolle used it as background music for his audio record Das Wunder der Liebe , and the title theme Wonderland of Love became an often used title on Martin Böttcher's sampler records.

The way to Karl May

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Winnetou / The Treasure in Silbersee (Soundtrack)
  DE 26th 03/15/1964 (24 weeks)
Under Vultures / Winnetou II (Soundtrack)
  DE 21st 03/15/1965 (12 weeks)
Singles
Elephant's Honeymoon
  DE 44 08/01/1962 (4 weeks)
Old Shatterhand melody
  DE 49 04/01/1963 (4 weeks)
Schut melody
  DE 49 11/01/1964 (8 weeks)
Winnetou melody
  DE 35 January 15, 1965 (2 weeks)

In the early 1960s, Rialto film boss Horst Wendlandt commissioned the composer with film music for his Edgar Wallace series . With his music for the Karl May films produced by Rialto Film at the same time , Martin Böttcher advanced to become the most successful German film composer in the 1960s. He composed the music for a total of ten Karl May films, and in the 1970s for the 26-part ZDF Karl May series Kara Ben Nemsi Effendi . "The music is half of the success of the film," wrote one critic after the premiere of The Treasure in Silbersee . The pieces of music were played as a medley several times in the then popular music and gala shows on television such as Musik ist Trumpf in the 1970s and 1980s, and were released on samplers for the first time at this time. The Karl May film music is still successful today and is repeatedly published in cover versions or on CDs .

“It was a particularly nice time for me when I was allowed to compose the music for Schatz im Silbersee and all the other films. It was a lot of fun - not just because the melodies made me so successful, but because the films suited my mentality. The basic motif was freedom and freedom from human ties. I didn't have to think twice before I came up with the right notes, the music came from my gut. Maybe that's why it became such a success. "

- Martin Böttcher : Quote from Michael Petzel: Karl-May-Filmbuch

Music for television

Martin Böttcher at the ZDF “Super Request Concert” in Emden 2002

When the cinema died out at the end of the 1960s, Martin Böttcher increasingly shifted his sphere of activity to television. In the very first crime series that ran on the newly founded ZDF , Das Kriminalmuseum , the title melody was a Böttcher composition. This was followed in the 1960s by the series Gertrud Stranitzki and Ida Rogalski with Inge Meysel and in the 1970s a multitude of other pieces of music, such as that for the crime series Sonderdezernat K1 , 1977 to 13 parts of the series It does not always have to be caviar with Siegfried Rauch , 1994 for 26 parts of the Air Albatross series or for various episodes of Der Alte and Derrick , e.g. B. the Salzburg melody from the Derrick episode A Suitcase from Salzburg from 1975. Since then, Böttcher has regularly composed for television series, most recently for Pastor Braun with Ottfried Fischer . Overall, Böttcher wrote the music for 56 feature films and around 400 television games and series.

On May 17, 1996, the composition Friedensmelodie was premiered live as part of the Radebeul Karl May Festival as part of a benefit concert for the children's hospital in Mostar .

reception

The German group Super Boys reached on 12 September 1998, first place in the ZDF - hit parade with an adaptation of Winnetou melody titled Wish U Were Here - wishes', you were with me . In the Czech Republic , in March 2000, a cover version called Vinetů by the group Těžkej Pokondr from the album Vypusťte Krakena received double platinum. Another successful title of the group was the title Vontové , a vocal version of the Old Shatterhand melody on the album Ježek v peci .

Private

Martin Böttcher was married to the actress Anneliese Kaplan . The couple lived in a house in Westerrönfeld in Schleswig-Holstein until Martin Böttcher's death. The Böttchers were married for 64 years and had two daughters. One daughter died of leukemia in 1991 at the age of 26. Martin Böttcher was buried in the Westerrönfeld cemetery.

Awards

Federal Cross of Merit for Martin Böttcher (January 2004)
  • The American Max Steiner Society awarded Böttcher honorary membership in 1979 for his recordings of Steiner's famous film melodies Tara's Theme and Theme from 'A Summerplace'
  • On November 9, 1995, Böttcher was the first to receive the “Honorary Prize for Film Music” ( Erich-Wolfgang-Korngold-Prize ) in Bonn for his “special contribution to German film history” (donated by the Deutsche Kinemathek Foundation , the German Musikrat , the German Phono Academy and the Filmstiftung NRW ).
  • At the Karl May Festival in Bad Segeberg in 1994 , Martin Böttcher received the Scharlih , the oldest and most famous award associated with the name Karl Mays.
  • During another Karl May festival (from July 25 to 27, 1997) he received a “Special Award” from the Schacht music publishers.
  • On April 15, 2000, in Titisee-Neustadt ( Black Forest ), he was awarded the " Edgar Wallace Prize" in gold for services to German crime films.
  • On January 25, 2004, Böttcher received the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon for his life's work in St. Moritz . The award was presented by the German ambassador to Switzerland , Frank Elbe (picture).
  • On May 28, 2009, Martin Böttcher was honored in Berlin on the occasion of the German Music Author's Award , which was awarded for the first time, in the category “Composition for film music”.
  • On June 27, 2013, Martin Böttcher was the first German film composer to receive the “Look & Listen - Telepool BR Music Award” in Munich.
  • As part of the 7th Film Music Days in Saxony-Anhalt , Martin Böttcher received the honorary award of the German Film Music Prize on October 23, 2014 in Halle .
  • On May 12, 2016, he was awarded the GEMA German Music Author's Prize for his life's work .

Filmography

Feature films

Television productions

Martin Böttcher has either written the title music and / or has contributed music several times for the following television series and productions:

Discography (selection)

  • German film composers, episode 1: "Martin Böttcher" - Sampler 2000, Bear Family Records BCD 16481 AR
  • The Youngsters, Bear Family Records, BCD 16403 AR (OST)
  • Detective film music by Martin Böttcher, BSC Music, 307.6518.2
    contains music from the Pater Brown films with Heinz Rühmann, Max, the pickpocket and from Edgar Wallace films
  • Detective film music Martin Böttcher Vol. 2, Prudence 398.6534.2
    contains music from The Crime Museum , The Diamond Hell on the Mekong , Murderer Game , Waiting Room to the Afterlife and from Edgar Wallace films
  • Marina / The day the rain came , Bear Family Records, BCD 16588 AH
    Contains original compositions by Martin Böttcher and cover versions that were played in both films
  • Martin Böttcher original film music, peermusic, CD 0103
    contains music from Our House in Cameroon , The Forger of London , Street of Promise , You Don't Shoot Angels , music from Lufthansa commercials and three bonus tracks
  • Winnetou's return, Polydor 557 021-2, soundtrack for the ZDF two-parter
  • Pastor Braun and others…, Colosseum, CST 8092-2, soundtrack for the ARD series and music from Schöne Ferien and other TV films by Martin Böttcher
  • Martin Böttcher sound kaleidoscope, Motor Music , 539 107-2, sampler with 25 tracks
  • "Wild West - Hot Orient" - Karl May film music 1936–1968
    Bear Family Records BCD 16413 HL - 8 CDs with 192 pages of film book,
    contains 10 Karl May film music by Martin Böttcher
  • Karl May Melodies (CD, new edition of the LP sampler from 1966)
  • Martin Böttcher - The great film and TV melodies , Warner Music Group, 5050467-3717-2-9, 2CD with a total of 50 titles
The last mentioned publication is the first double CD with Böttcher's interpretations. Its specialty is that it only includes music recordings from former Telefunken or Teldec publications. Most of the original recordings (many in mono at the time ) were originally published by Polydor , Heliodor, London , Ariola and others. At Telefunken and Teldec , Böttcher recorded these again in a revised form, partly with a different arrangement and, above all, in stereo. The first CD contains 25 titles from movies (including titles by other composers), while the second CD contains 25 titles from television programs and series only by Martin Böttcher.
  • On the third CD initiated by ZDF under the motto from the heart , on which celebrities perform their favorite lyric pieces, Martin Böttcher can also be seen as a reciter since 2005. He is reading a poem by Marie Freifrau von Ebner-Eschenbach (Der Hörverlag, Munich, ISBN 3-89940-674-5 ).
  • Deep in the night , Francis Durbridge crime radio play with background music by Martin Böttcher, Der Audio Verlag, ISBN 3-89813-152-1 (the only radio play for which Martin Böttcher wrote music)

literature

  • Reiner Boller: Winnetou melody. The Martin Böttcher biography with catalog raisonné. With a foreword by Pierre Brice . Stellfeld, Hallbergmoos 2003, ISBN 3-935192-66-5 .
  • Reiner Boller: Winnetou melody. Martin Böttcher. The updated biography with a list of works. Anniversary edition for the 80th birthday. Publishing Alliance, Hallbergmoos 2007, ISBN 978-3-938109-16-8 .
  • Karl-Heinz Becker: Martin Böttcher - "I am a friend of sound and write from the liver how I feel." In: Filmharmonische Blätter. Vol. 6, No. 3, summer 1986, ISSN  0930-3154 , pp. 36-39.
  • Jürgen Wölfer : Jazz in Germany. The encyclopedia. All musicians and record companies from 1920 until today. Hannibal, Höfen 2008, ISBN 978-3-85445-274-4 .

Web links

Commons : Martin Böttcher  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Winnetou composer Martin Böttcher dies - an original genius of film music. In: BR-Klassik . April 21, 2019, accessed April 22, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Bayerischer Rundfunk: Martin Böttcher on the 90th birthday: An original genius of film music | BR classic . June 14, 2017 ( br-klassik.de [accessed October 3, 2018]).
  3. ^ Statement by Martin Böttcher in an interview on the DVD for the series Das Kriminalmuseum
  4. ↑ Marc Hairapetian: Karl May? I have no idea about that. In: Die Welt Online. April 22, 2019.
  5. ↑ Horst Ansin, Marc Dröscher, Jürgen Foth, Gerhard Klußmeier Anglo German Swing Club. Documents 1945–1952 Hamburg 2003, p. 493 ff.
  6. ↑ Chart data albums: DE1 DE2
  7. ↑ Chart data singles: DE
  8. ^ Film composer Martin Böttcher turns 90 at www.mz-web.de; accessed on July 17, 2019
  9. ↑ The grave of Martin Böttcher. In: knerger.de. Klaus Nerger, accessed on August 2, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Böttcher, Martin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thomas, Michael (pseudonym); Renardo (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German film composer and conductor
DATE OF BIRTH June 17, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH April 20, 2019
Place of death Westerrönfeld