Willi Stech

Willi Stech (born November 29, 1905 in Krefeld , † April 28, 1979 in Ehrenstetten ) was a German pianist , band leader and composer .

He studied piano and composition at the Cologne University of Music from 1922 to 1927 and then worked as a concert pianist at home and abroad. In early 1933 he became a member of the NSDAP . On July 21, 1933, he was appointed chief clerk at the newly founded German broadcaster . He acted as the station's resident pianist and was also head of the entertainment department, whose program he designed.

In 1934 he founded the orchestra formation Die Goldene Sieben with Harold M. Kirchstein . After its dissolution in 1939, Stech formed a new orchestra on the instructions of his clients, the German broadcaster's dance orchestra. This orchestra went on air for the first time in the winter of the war year 1941 under Willi Stech. It had been in use almost continuously since the end of 1941. From 1942 to 1943 records were also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon , and from the end of 1943 on magnetic tape. It is noteworthy that there are also American swing titles that were banned from German radio and were probably used by German foreign broadcasters.

In February 1944, Stech and Barnabás von Géczy were appointed director of the German Dance and Entertainment Orchestra in Prague. After the war he was taken prisoner in the Czech Republic and later worked as a pianist in Switzerland. From 1951 to 1970 he directed the small entertainment orchestra of the Südwestfunk in Freiburg. After its dissolution, he founded his own "Great Orchestra Willi Stech", with which he produced further recordings.

literature

• Wolfgang Behr: The small orchestra of the Südwestfunk under the direction of Willi Stech. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden-Baden 1994, ISBN 3-7890-2906-8

Web links

• Biography with photo