Peter Heinz Kersten
Peter Heinz Kersten (born August 27, 1929 in Vienna ; † January 18, 2004 there ; real name: Peter Stockhammer ) was an Austrian magician and interpreter of Viennese songs .
Life
After attending primary school, Peter Heinz Kersten entered the Konvikt of the Vienna Boys' Choir in 1938 , where the foundation stone for his singing career was laid in the period up to 1941. He began his training as a dentist in 1944. The following year, when he began studying music at the Vienna Conservatory at the age of 16 , his life almost came to an abrupt end, because in bombed-out Vienna he was playing to throw stones into a bomb crater , which also contained the remains of a Hitler bust. He was watched by one of the last Nazi soldiers and was only barely able to save himself from being shot.
At the age of 23 he passed the state examination in dentistry in 1952, and a year later he married and opened an ordination in the 16th district of Vienna, in Ottakring . His daughter's name Gloria may have been influenced by the fact that the famous Kalanag's assistant was named Gloria.
Soon after joining the Magische Klub Wien , he was elected president in 1962 at the age of 33, and every year thereafter until his voluntary resignation in 1989. His only participation in a magical competition in Bologna led to a 1st prize in the "General Magic" category. In 1973 he took over the office of FISM President, two years later he became chairman of the entertainment arts and acrobatics section of the art, media and liberal professions union and at the same time president of the social work of Austrian artists.
In 1976 he organized the World Magic Congress with the Magic Club Vienna, which, according to the statutes of the FISM, also required the handover of his presidential duties to his successor. The magic show , which was held for the first time this year in the Theater an der Wien , attracted great national and international attention for years. Soon the FIA (Federation International des Acteurs) elected him president in 1982, an office to which he was re-elected twice in 1985 and 1988. In the same year he realized his idea of an Austrian umbrella organization with the establishment of the MRA (Magischer Ring Austria), of which he was president until 1988. In 1989 he was a co-founder of the Magical Cercle Vienna, of which he remained honorary president until his death. Among his numerous honors and appointments, the award of the Golden Town Hall Man by the City of Vienna in 1994 and the Golden Decoration of Honor in 1996 for services to the Republic of Austria are worth mentioning.
Kersten was not only active as a magician and functionary, but also appeared as a singer and Wienerlied interpreter. His last appearance in this capacity was a recital in November 2002 in the Vienna Tobacco Museum.
His favorite magic tricks were the Chinese string sticks , the 6-ring game with a spectator , orange banknotes , McDonald's aces , Hindu thread , the invisible card game , the card in the wallet , the Sympathetic Silks , the Jazz Aces and coins by the table . He had a constantly renewing repertoire.
Peter Heinz Kersten died a few months before his 75th birthday of the direct consequences of a stroke. His grave is in the Ottakringer Friedhof in Vienna.
Web links
- Works by Peter Heinz Kersten in the catalog of the German National Library
- Website about Peter Heinz Kersten
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kersten, Peter Heinz |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Stockhammer, Peter |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian magician, interpreter of Viennese songs |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 27, 1929 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 18, 2004 |
| Place of death | Vienna |