Heinrich Strecker
Encyclopedia
Heinrich Strecker was an Austria
n composer of operetta
s and popular Viennese music.
in Belgium
, where he was educated on a boarding school run by Lazarists
. His talent for music was noticed here, and his interest nurtured. At the completion of his schooling, he could play 12 instruments. He professed a preference for the violin
, in which he completed a masterclass. In 1907, Strecker made his public performance debut with his own composition, Violin Concerto in A Major, and in the same year, he was asked to play it for the Belgian king Leopold II
, and was honoured for doing so.
He returned to Vienna in 1910, at the age of 17, to study law at the University of Vienna
. His studies were interrupted by the First World War, in which he was an army officer. After the war he devoted himself solely to his music, studying with Prof. Camillo Horn and beginning to compose classical pieces.
Between commissioned pieces, such as dance and film music, he discovered Viennese songs. He became famous for this type of popular music, as well as for his Singspiel
. He often collaborated with F. Gerold, Joe Grebitz and Bruno Hardt-Walden, who wrote the song texts and libretti.
On 21 December 1931, his operetta "Mädel aus Wien" (Girl from Vienna) premiered at the Vienna Bürgertheater
, and immediately following the Anschluss
of Austria by the Third Reich, his operetta "Der ewige Walzer" (The Eternal Waltz) premiered on 18 May 1938 at the Volksoper
. His Singspiel Ännchen von Tharau (Little Ann from Tharau), which he wrote with Hardt-Walden, premiered at the Raimund Theater
on 8 February 1940.
Strecker became a member of the Nazi Party in 1933, and was the regional representative of the cultural community of Vienna. In addition to the "Excelsior" and "Stage" publishers, which he founded in Vienna in 1926, he took over the "Bristol, Sirius and Europaton" music publishers under the guise of Aryanisation.
Strecker was married to Erika Strecker, and died at the age of 88 in Baden on 28 June 1981.
During his career he composed many popular songs, walzes, marches, operettas, and film scores. His music is still popular in Austria, and concerts are sometimes given in his old home in the Viennese suburb of Baden bei Wien.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n composer of operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
s and popular Viennese music.
Biography
As a young child, Strecker was sent to TheuxTheux
Theux is a Walloon municipality of Belgium in Province of Liege. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 11,571 inhabitants. The total area is 83.36 km², giving a population density of 139 inhabitants per km².-World War 2:...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, where he was educated on a boarding school run by Lazarists
Lazarists
Congregation of the Mission is a vowed order of priests and brothers associated with the Vincentian Family, a loose federation of organizations who claim St. Vincent de Paul as their founder or Patron...
. His talent for music was noticed here, and his interest nurtured. At the completion of his schooling, he could play 12 instruments. He professed a preference for the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, in which he completed a masterclass. In 1907, Strecker made his public performance debut with his own composition, Violin Concerto in A Major, and in the same year, he was asked to play it for the Belgian king Leopold II
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
, and was honoured for doing so.
He returned to Vienna in 1910, at the age of 17, to study law at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
. His studies were interrupted by the First World War, in which he was an army officer. After the war he devoted himself solely to his music, studying with Prof. Camillo Horn and beginning to compose classical pieces.
Between commissioned pieces, such as dance and film music, he discovered Viennese songs. He became famous for this type of popular music, as well as for his Singspiel
Singspiel
A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
. He often collaborated with F. Gerold, Joe Grebitz and Bruno Hardt-Walden, who wrote the song texts and libretti.
On 21 December 1931, his operetta "Mädel aus Wien" (Girl from Vienna) premiered at the Vienna Bürgertheater
Bürgertheater
The Bürgertheater was a theatre in Vienna.The Wiener Bürgertheater was erected in 1905 in the Third District , at Vordere Zollamtsstraße 13. It was designed by the architects Franz von Krauss and Josef Tölk. The official opening took place on December 7, 1905, with the performance of Der alte Herr...
, and immediately following the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
of Austria by the Third Reich, his operetta "Der ewige Walzer" (The Eternal Waltz) premiered on 18 May 1938 at the Volksoper
Vienna Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It gives about three hundred performances of twenty-five productions during an annual season running from September through June....
. His Singspiel Ännchen von Tharau (Little Ann from Tharau), which he wrote with Hardt-Walden, premiered at the Raimund Theater
Raimund Theater
The Raimund Theater is a theatre in the Mariahilf district of Vienna, Austria.Named after the Austrian dramatist Ferdinand Raimund, the theatre was built by an association of Viennese citizens and opened on 28 November 1893 with Raimund's play Die gefesselte Phantasie...
on 8 February 1940.
Strecker became a member of the Nazi Party in 1933, and was the regional representative of the cultural community of Vienna. In addition to the "Excelsior" and "Stage" publishers, which he founded in Vienna in 1926, he took over the "Bristol, Sirius and Europaton" music publishers under the guise of Aryanisation.
Strecker was married to Erika Strecker, and died at the age of 88 in Baden on 28 June 1981.
During his career he composed many popular songs, walzes, marches, operettas, and film scores. His music is still popular in Austria, and concerts are sometimes given in his old home in the Viennese suburb of Baden bei Wien.
Selected works
The complete catalogue of Heinrich Strecker's works comprises more than 350 individual pieces.Stage works
- Mädel aus Wien, operetta (1931)
- Ännchen von Tharau, Singspiel in 3 acts (1933)
- Der ewige Walzer, operetta (1937)
- Honeymoon, operetta
Viennese songs
- Drunt in der Lobau
- Ja, ja der Wein ist gut
- Auf der Lahmgrub'n da steht ein altes Haus
- Grüß mir die Stadt der Lieder
- An der blauen Donau
- Wann a Weana Musi spielt
- Das war in Petersdorf
Literature
- Raimar Wieser (Hrsg.): Heinrich Strecker und Baden (Heinrich Strecker and Baden) Gesellschaft der Fruende Badens, (Association of the Friends of Baden), Baden 1993.
- Raimar Wieser: Liebes Wien, du Stadt der Lieder. Heinrich Strecker und seine Zeit (Lovely Vienna, City of Songs. Heinrich Strecker and His Times) Amalthea Verlag, Wien 1997, ISBN 3-85002-405-9.
Sources
- Most of the material in this article is from the German Wikipedia article