Theodor Hassek
Theodor Hassek (born April 11, 1929 in Linz , † October 28, 2009 in Vienna ) was an Austrian composer and musician .
Life
Hassek comes from a musical family. At the age of 14 he attended the Potansky Music School in Vienna and then studied composition at the Academy for Music in Vienna with Joseph Marx , Otto Siegl and Rudolf Kattnigg, and piano with Eugenie Wild-Volek and Ludwig Czaczkes. From 1944 to 1954 Theo Hassek gave concerts as a pianist and also as an interpreter of his own works. His pianistic repertoire extended from Johann Sebastian Bach into the 20th century and also included technically demanding works such as Ravel's “Gaspard de la Nuit”, “Miroirs”, Balakirew's “Islamey” and Liszt's B minor Sonata.
In 1950 he passed the state examination for piano and in 1952 the final examination for theory (composition). After three years as the headmaster of the music school in Kittsee (1951 to 1953), he decided on a "bread and butter" job and worked as a representative for publishing houses, as a warehouse manager and for property management. In addition, he wrote compositions for the later composer and clarinetist of the Vienna Philharmonic, Arnold Hartl. In 1957 he married Ingeborg Smolik.
From 1962 he turned actively to music again and played as a member of the 3 band "The Gamblers" together with his cousin Erhard Hassek Schlager and dance music. After starting out in rather seedy establishments, they achieved their breakthrough at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck in 1964, where they performed in the Sporthotel in Axamer Lizum . From then on, the band was alternately engaged in the Intercont Hotels in Geneva , Frankfurt , Hanover , Düsseldorf and Vienna. After the birth of his son Helmut (* 1967), the family settled in Vienna again in 1971.
From 1971 Hassek also began to turn to the Wienerlied and played at Heurigen Christ 42 in Vienna Stammersdorf and at Bach-Hengl in Grinzing, where he appeared as a member of the “Charmanten Wiener”. Apart from a few appearances in four-hand piano playing (together with his long-time piano partner Helmut Hofmann), he ended his activity as an active musician in 1983 for health reasons and from then on worked as a lecturer and arranger for Viennese music publishers (including Weltmusik Hochmuth-Verlag, Hermann Schneider). During this time he arranged around 500 works (mainly light music) for piano. In 1988 he retired, but continued to compose. Theodor Hassek died on October 28, 2009 in Vienna of a heart condition. He was buried at the Asperner Friedhof (15-8-14) in Vienna.
Works
Theodor Hassek composed over 100 works of various genres, from neoclassical piano and chamber music works, piano pieces of "upscale entertainment music", pop music, Viennese songs to sacred music (masses). Hassek's musical work was always shaped by the principle that it should give the listener pleasure. You will look in vain for in-depth “problem music”. Nevertheless, all works are characterized by original musical ideas, conscientious elaboration down to the last detail, a refreshing brevity of message and a lack of intrusive redundancy.
Although the typical piano sound for the pianist Theodor Hassek is sometimes unmistakable in his compositions, the compositions are primarily committed to the form and less to the sound surface. That is why, especially in chamber music, but also in two- or four-handed piano music, there are often transcriptions of works that were previously composed for other instruments.
In the last years of his life, Theodor Hassek, encouraged by Josef Böck, devoted himself to the composition of sacred choral works (masses), although he did not live to see their performance, which had been planned several times. The originals of his sheet music, hand sketches and some sound recordings are in the family's possession and will be handed over to the music collection of the Vienna Library in the City Hall at a later date.
Web links
- Website about Theodor Hassek, created by his son Helmut
- Works by and about Theodor Hassek in the catalog of the German National Library
- Biography in the newsletter of the Lower Austrian Cultural Network - Section No. 7
- Mentioned in the Austrian composers' association
- Mentioned in the Austrian music dictionary
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hassek, Theodor |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hassek, Theodor Franz |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian composer and musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 11, 1929 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Linz |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 28, 2009 |
| Place of death | Vienna |