Operetta Overtures 225332Bk EU 10/6/07 7:35 Pm Page 2
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225332bk EU 10/6/07 7:35 pm Page 2 Carl Michael Ziehrer (1843-1922): Operetta Overtures lungen besuchen wollen. Im allerletzten Moment fasste er statt dessen den Entschluss, nach Berlin zurückzufahren, wo er damals engagiert war. Man kann sich vorstellen, wie bestürzt seine Familie und seine Freunde in Wien waren, Without doubt, the greatest of all rivals to the superiority of the Strauss brothers was Carl Michael Ziehrer. His als er nach der Aufführung nicht heimkam – denn er hatte niemanden von der Änderung seiner Pläne in Kenntnis long musical career had similarities with that of the younger Johann Strauss, with the noted exception that gesetzt. Ziehrer was three times a military bandmaster, a fact that introduced an often brash and swaggering style into his compositions. This, combined with the influence of local folk-music, provides a recipe that is refreshingly John Diamond different from his contemporaries. Ziehrer was launched with a brand new orchestra in 1863 at the Dianasaal by Vorsitzender der britischen Johann-Strauß-Gesellschaft und Autor Carl Haslinger, an event sprung by the publisher as revenge against the Strauss brothers because of a financial des Buches „From Gold to Silver“ über das Leben von Carl Michael Ziehrer disagreement. This was not entirely spontaneous, however, as Ziehrer’s father, a prosperous hatter, assisted by Deutsche Fassung: Cris Posslac Haslinger, had helped finance his son’s musical education at the Vienna Conservatory, a period which ended with a contract with Haslinger to publish his compositions. Despite the initial fanfare, Ziehrer found the competition from all three Strauss brothers daunting, and often had to perform in the suburbs to make a living. Nevertheless, as he tirelessly pursued his career with one engagement after another, his activities soon attracted the attention of the press; his style was likened in one early article to that of Joseph Lanner, who of course had been Strauss father’s prime competitor. Probably as a result of financial pressures, he accepted a three-year contract with the army as a bandmaster in 1870. Returning to civilian life he formed an orchestra in record time to play at the 1873 Vienna World Exhibition. He also founded the musical journal Deutsche Musik-Zeitung which became one of the prime sources of musical information of the late nineteenth century. Ziehrer rejoined the army for another spell, discharging himself in 1877 when he returned to civilian life and changed his publisher to Doblinger. He took over in Vienna many of Eduard Strauss’s musicians who were reluctant to follow the latter on an extended overseas tour, naming the orchestra “The Former Eduard Strauss Orchestra”. This led Eduard Strauss to take out an injunction against the use of the title, which had, in fact, been demanded by the musicians themselves. In 1879 Ziehrer visited Bucharest with a reconstituted orchestra and became closely involved with their Royal family, and then went to Budapest to stage a now lost operetta, Der kleine Don Juan. He met his future wife Marianne Edelmann, a popular operetta singer, while performing in Berlin in 1881. It was not until Ziehrer’s third spell as a bandmaster with the Hoch-und Deutschmeister Regiment in 1885 that he fully established his reputation in Vienna and within days he was raising the standards of military band performance to previously unknown heights, attracting huge crowds. At civilian concerts many of his players dropped their percussion and brass instruments and took up strings, a common practice at the time. He had at last found his own identity and many of his best dance compositions were written over the next decade. He played at innumerable balls and functions, many for charity, and was regarded very much as a people’s man. The peak of Ziehrer’s military career came with an invitation in 1893 to represent Austria at the Chicago World Fair, where he played nightly. Ziehrer continued to tour the United States, outstaying his leave, only to be dismissed with his orchestra by the authorities on his return. He accepted an engagement to Berlin, taking his players with him under the title of the Chicagoer Konzert-Kapelle and toured no less than 41 German cities and towns, playing with precision and verve. Still very popular, he returned to Vienna and formed a new orchestra to perform at daily engagements all over the city. After an abortive attempt to play in London, he fell ill from overwork and retired to the Austrian mountains, where he decided in future to concentrate on operetta. With his home-grown style and very Viennese librettos his operettas did not travel as well as those of some of his contemporaries. Like Johann Strauss he published arrangements, dances and songs from his operettas, many 8.225332 2 11 8.225332 225332bk EU 10/6/07 7:35 pm Page 10 7 Die drei Wünsche becoming well known and outlasting the stage works themselves. Die drei Wünsche wurden 1901 am Carltheater aufgeführt; viele der Lieder sind bis heute im Operetten-Repertoire In the twilight period prior to the outbreak of the First World War, Ziehrer’s operettas kept to the form of populär geblieben. Damals lieferte sich dieses Stück auf den deutschsprachigen Bühnen namentlich in der Provinz the so called Golden Era, soon to be overtaken by the more romantic style of the Silver Age started by his friend einen harten Kampf mit Lehárs Lustiger Witwe. Es lief auch im Theater an der Wien und im Wiener Raimundtheater Franz Lehár. In 1909 the Emperor Franz Joseph appointed him to the position of Imperial Court Ball Director, sowie in Berlin, Prag und Budapest. Den Gipfel an Beliebtheit erreichten Die drei Wünsche 1907, als sie in allen vier in recognition of his popularity and contribution to music. Giving up his own orchestra he became active as a genannten Hauptstädten inszeniert wurden. Es geht darin um eine entschlossene Bedienung vom Lande, die eine Stern- guest conductor, along with Franz Lehár, Leo Fall and Oscar Straus. With Lehár he was instrumental in forming schnuppe erblickt und dann den alten Aberglauben verwirklicht, sich bei so viel Glück ihre drei größten Wünsche zu a permanent orchestra to perform popular music to a consistently high standard from which emerged the Vienna erfüllen. Symphony Orchestra, but the war destroyed him, and his fortune went together with the Empire. In 1914 he conducted the very last Court Ball. He died penniless, the last of the original waltz kings, having produced little 8 Manöverkinder after 1915. Nevertheless he has kept his place in the hearts of the Viennese. Manöverkinder ist eine der letzten Operetten von Carl Michael Ziehrer und wurde 1912 erstmals inszeniert. Ein Jahr Some limited film footage and sound recordings were made, and a film of Ziehrer’s life was produced by später erschien sie in einer Bearbeitung als Der Husarengeneral, wobei sie jedoch die ursprüngliche Ouvertüre behielt. Willi Forst in 1949. Professor Max Schönherr, long-time conductor of the Vienna Radio Orchestra, arranger, Das Stück wurde im Sommertheater, dem Kaisergarten des Wiener Praters, gegeben. Die Musik hat einen deutlich composer, recording artist, and musicologist, published the largest ever dissertation on a light music composer ungarischen Einschlag, ist in ihrer abwechslungsreichen Konstruktion interessant und diesbezüglich recht neuartig. in 1974, entitled Carl Michael Ziehrer, sein Werk, sein Leben, seine Zeit, an invaluable reference in the Seit 1913 hat es keine Aufführungen mehr gegeben. Die Partitur der Ouvertüre wurde in jüngster Zeit wiederentdeckt, production of notes for this series. In 1952 he arranged a second posthumous operetta entitled und die erste öffentliche Aufführung erfolgte 2006 bei einem Ball im englischen Oxford. Weitere Informationen zu Deutschmeisterkapelle (the first being Die Verliebte Eskadron, 1930 arranged by Karl Pauspertl) and during his der Operette gibt es in der Einführung zu dem Walzer O diese Husaren! op. 552, der Melodien aus dieser Operette lifetime played a major rôle in keeping Ziehrer’s music alive. Today this rôle is maintained by the Ziehrer benutzt [Marco Polo: Ausgewählte Tänze und Märsche, Folge 3]. Wir danken Prof. Nischkauer für die Überlassung Stiftung (Foundation) who perform concerts and also make recordings. Ziehrer’s legacy includes some six des Orchestermaterials der Ouvertüre. hundred dance pieces and marches, and 23 full-length operettas. 9 Ein Deutschmeister Ziehrer Overtures Ein Deutschmeister ist das erste Bühnenstück Ziehrers, dessen Partitur vollständig erhalten ist. Es kam erstmals 1888 Although a lot of Ziehrer’s dance music has appeared on recordings over the years, no recording exists, until am Carltheater heraus, während der Komponist als Kapellmeister des Hoch- und Deutschmeister-Regiments wirkte. now, that is entirely devoted to his operetta overtures. These provide a rich and varied repertoire and can be Der Start war nicht schlecht, weil man den Besuch des Kronprinzen Rudolf erwartete, der dann aber nicht kam. Trotz compared with similar compilations of overtures by Suppé and Johann Strauss. Furthermore, much of what is gerade einmal zwanzig Aufführungen beherrschten viele Melodien des Werkes die Wiener Karnevalssaison 1889. included are first ever recordings, a result of much research and restoration from the many archives of Vienna. Zehn Jahre vergingen, bevor sich Ziehrer wieder der Bühne zuwandte und auch dort Siegeszüge erlebte. Wie nicht For those that may notice the absence of some of Ziehrer’s overtures such as Die Landstreicher, Liebeswalzer, anders zu erwarten, spielt die Operette vor einem militärischen Hintergrund. and Fesche Geister (he wrote in total a known fifteen) it was considered to be of little incremental value to repeat them as other modern recordings already exist, thus allowing space for a more rewarding compilation 0 Ein tolles Mädel that focuses on his other operettas. Ein tolles Mädel war eine zweiaktige Varieté-Produktion, die 1907 in Wiesbaden inszeniert wurde.