Giuseppe Becce
Encyclopedia
Giuseppe Becce was an Italian-born film score
composer
who enriched the German cinema.
/Vicenza
, Italy
. He showed his musical talents early and was named the director of the student musical orchestra at the Padua
University when he studied geography
. In 1906 he moved to Germany and studied musical composition with Arthur Nikisch
and Ferruccio Busoni
. In the 1913 silent movie
Richard Wagner
, directed by Carl Froelich
, Becce played the title role and wrote the accompanying music. He continued to write such music for a series of subsequent movies. A collection of these pieces, the so-called "Kinothek" was published between 1919 and 1933 by the Verlag Schlesinger'sche Buchhandlung
in Berlin.
From 1915 to 1923, Becce was the director of the little orchestra of the Berlin Mozartsaal am Nollendorfplatz
. After World War I
, he was named to direct the music department of the Decla-Bioscop AG and chief director of its movie orchestra, later to became the Universum Film AG
(UFA) orchestra. He also worked at major movie theatres as director of the orchestras, among them the UFA-Pavillon am Nollendorfplatz, the Tauentzien-Palast, and the Gloria Palast. In this position he worked with the famous directors of the German silent movie era, namely Fritz Lang
, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
, Georg Wilhelm Pabst
, Ernst Lubitsch
, Ludwig Berger
, Joe May
and Berthold Viertel
; he arranged and composed music for their movies. In 1920 Becce published the magazine Film-Ton-Kunst. In 1927 he published, together with Hans Erdmann and Ludwig Brav, the Allgemeines Handbuch der Filmmusik; it was based on his Kinothek, amongst other items, and enabled the pianist of silent movies to accompany movies in the generalized style and motifs of renowned composers.
With the arrival of sound movies Becce worked on musical movies and movies covering opera
or operetta
themes. He worked with Leni Riefenstahl
, Luis Trenker
, and Harald Reinl
whose mountain film
s he scored. Becce was very prolific providing music to movies for more than four decades; he commonly mixed his own compositions with creations of other composers.
Becce died in Berlin
and is buried in the cemetery of Berlin
-Wilmersdorf
, Berliner Straße.
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
who enriched the German cinema.
Biography
Becce was born in LonigoLonigo
Lonigo is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy, its population counts around 16.000 inhabitants.In its frazione of Bagnolo is the Villa Pisani, a Renaissance patrician villa designed by Andrea Palladio, which is part of a World Heritage Site...
/Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He showed his musical talents early and was named the director of the student musical orchestra at the Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
University when he studied geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
. In 1906 he moved to Germany and studied musical composition with Arthur Nikisch
Arthur Nikisch
Arthur Nikisch ; 12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London and - most importantly - Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Liszt...
and Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
. In the 1913 silent movie
Silent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, directed by Carl Froelich
Carl Froelich
Carl August Froelich was a German film pioneer and film director.-Apparatus builder and cameraman:...
, Becce played the title role and wrote the accompanying music. He continued to write such music for a series of subsequent movies. A collection of these pieces, the so-called "Kinothek" was published between 1919 and 1933 by the Verlag Schlesinger'sche Buchhandlung
Adolf Martin Schlesinger
Adolf Martin Schlesinger was a German music publisher whose firm became one of the most influential in Berlin in the early nineteenth century.-Career:...
in Berlin.
From 1915 to 1923, Becce was the director of the little orchestra of the Berlin Mozartsaal am Nollendorfplatz
Nollendorfplatz
Nollendorfplatz is a square in the Schöneberg district of Berlin. Colloquially called Nolli it was named in 1864 after the village of Nakléřov , a site of the 1813 Battle of Kulm....
. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he was named to direct the music department of the Decla-Bioscop AG and chief director of its movie orchestra, later to became the Universum Film AG
Universum Film AG
Universum Film AG, better known as UFA or Ufa, is a film company that was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema from 1917 to 1945...
(UFA) orchestra. He also worked at major movie theatres as director of the orchestras, among them the UFA-Pavillon am Nollendorfplatz, the Tauentzien-Palast, and the Gloria Palast. In this position he worked with the famous directors of the German silent movie era, namely Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
Friedrich Wilhelm "F. W." Murnau was one of the most influential German film directors of the silent era, and a prominent figure in the expressionist movement in German cinema during the 1920s...
, Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Georg Wilhelm Pabst
-Biography:Pabst was born in Raudnitz, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary , the son of a railroad employee.Returning from the United States, he was in France when World War I began...
, Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
, Ludwig Berger
Ludwig Berger (director)
Ludwig Berger was a German film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. He directed 36 films between 1920 and 1969...
, Joe May
Joe May
Joe May , born Julius Otto Mandl, was a film director and film producer born in Austria and one of the pioneers of German cinema....
and Berthold Viertel
Berthold Viertel
Berthold Viertel , born in Vienna, Austria was a screen writer and film director.-Arrival in America:He was married to screenplay writer and actress Salka Viertel from 30 April 1918 to 20 December 1947. The pair came to Los Angeles in 1928 planning to stay for just three years...
; he arranged and composed music for their movies. In 1920 Becce published the magazine Film-Ton-Kunst. In 1927 he published, together with Hans Erdmann and Ludwig Brav, the Allgemeines Handbuch der Filmmusik; it was based on his Kinothek, amongst other items, and enabled the pianist of silent movies to accompany movies in the generalized style and motifs of renowned composers.
With the arrival of sound movies Becce worked on musical movies and movies covering opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
or 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:...
themes. He worked with Leni Riefenstahl
Leni Riefenstahl
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens , a propaganda film made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party...
, Luis Trenker
Luis Trenker
Luis Trenker was a German-language South Tyrolian film director, architect, and actor.-Biography:...
, and Harald Reinl
Harald Reinl
Harald Reinl was an Austrian film director. He is especially known for the movies he made based on Edgar Wallace and Karl May books .He started his career as an extra in the mountain-films of Arnold Fanck...
whose mountain film
Mountain film
A mountain film is a film genre that focuses on mountaineering and especially the battle of man against nature. In addition to mere adventure, the protagonists who return from the mountain come back changed, usually gaining wisdom and enlightenment....
s he scored. Becce was very prolific providing music to movies for more than four decades; he commonly mixed his own compositions with creations of other composers.
Becce died in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and is buried in the cemetery of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
-Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf is an inner city locality of Berlin, formerly a borough by itself but since Berlin's 2001 administrative reform a part of the new borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.-History:...
, Berliner Straße.
Film selections
- 1913 Richard Wagner. Director: Carl FroelichCarl FroelichCarl August Froelich was a German film pioneer and film director.-Apparatus builder and cameraman:...
- 1920 The Cabinet of Dr. CaligariThe Cabinet of Dr. CaligariThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a 1920 silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. It is one of the most influential of German Expressionist films and is often considered one of the greatest horror movies of the silent era. This movie is cited as...
. Director: Robert WieneRobert WieneRobert Wiene was an important film director of the German silent cinema.Robert Wiene was born in Breslau, as the elder son of the successful theatre actor Carl Wiene. His younger brother Conrad also became an actor, but Robert Wiene at first studied law at the University of Berlin. In 1908 he also... - 1921 Hamlet. Director: Svend Gade
- 1921 Scherben. Director: Lupu Pick
- 1921 Der müde TodDer müde TodDestiny, or in the original German, Der müde Tod is a 1921 silent film directed in Germany by Fritz Lang. The German language title literally means Weary Death ; the film was originally released in the United States as Behind the Wall and in the United Kingdom as Destiny, the title under which...
. Director: Fritz LangFritz LangFriedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute... - 1922 Sodom and GomorrahSodom and Gomorrah (1922 film)Sodom und Gomorrha is an Austrian silent epic film from 1922...
. Director Michael CurtizMichael CurtizMichael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész... - 1923 Der steinerne Reiter. Director: Fritz Wendhausen
- 1924 Der letzte Mann. Director: Friedrich Wilhelm MurnauFriedrich Wilhelm MurnauFriedrich Wilhelm "F. W." Murnau was one of the most influential German film directors of the silent era, and a prominent figure in the expressionist movement in German cinema during the 1920s...
- 1925 Wege zu Kraft und Schönheit. Director: Nicholas Kaufmann, Wilhelm Prager
- 1926 Tartüff. Director: Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
- 1926 Die Abenteuer eines Zehnmarkscheines. Director: Berthold ViertelBerthold ViertelBerthold Viertel , born in Vienna, Austria was a screen writer and film director.-Arrival in America:He was married to screenplay writer and actress Salka Viertel from 30 April 1918 to 20 December 1947. The pair came to Los Angeles in 1928 planning to stay for just three years...
- 1926 Geheimnisse einer SeeleSecrets of a SoulSecrets of a Soul is a 1926 silent German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Werner Krauss - Martin Fellman* Ruth Weyher - Seine Frau* Ilka Grüning - Die Mutter* Jack Trevor - Erich* Pavel Pavlov - Dr...
. Director: Georg Wilhelm PabstGeorg Wilhelm Pabst-Biography:Pabst was born in Raudnitz, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary , the son of a railroad employee.Returning from the United States, he was in France when World War I began... - 1927 Am Rande der Welt. Director: Karl GruneKarl GruneKarl Grune was an Austrian film director and writer who made many silent films in the 1920s.Grune was born in Vienna, where he later attended drama school...
- 1929 Die Frau, nach der man sich sehnt. Director: Curtis BernhardtCurtis BernhardtCurtis Bernhardt was a German film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. Some of his American films were called "woman's films" including the Joan Crawford film Possessed . Bernhardt trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film...
- 1930 Skandal um EvaSkandal um EvaScandalous Eva is a 1930 German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Henny Porten - Dr.Eva Rüttgers* Oskar Sima - Dr.Kurt Hiller* Ludwig Stössel - Dir.Rohrbach* Paul Henckels - Prof.Hagen* Adele Sandrock - Vulpius...
. Director: Georg Wilhelm PabstGeorg Wilhelm Pabst-Biography:Pabst was born in Raudnitz, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary , the son of a railroad employee.Returning from the United States, he was in France when World War I began... - 1931 Berge in Flammen. Director: Karl HartlKarl HartlKarl Hartl was an Austrian film director.-Life:Born in Vienna, Hartl began his film career at the Austrian Sascha-Film company of Alexander Kolowrat and from 1919 was assistant to the Hungarian director Alexander Korda...
, Luis TrenkerLuis TrenkerLuis Trenker was a German-language South Tyrolian film director, architect, and actor.-Biography:... - 1931 Zweierlei Moral. Director: Gerhard LamprechtGerhard LamprechtGerhard Lamprecht was a German film director and screenwriter. He directed 63 films between 1920 and 1958. He also wrote for 26 films between 1918 and 1958...
- 1932 Razzia in St. Pauli. Director: Werner Hochbaum
- 1932 Das Blaue LichtDas Blaue LichtDas Blaue Licht is a black-and-white 1932 film written and directed by Leni Riefenstahl and Béla Balázs, with uncredited scripting by Carl Mayer. In Riefenstahl's film version, the witch, Junta, played by Riefenstahl, is intended to be a sympathetic character...
. Director: Leni RiefenstahlLeni RiefenstahlHelene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens , a propaganda film made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party... - 1933 EkstaseEcstasy (film)Ecstasy – Extase in Czech, Ekstase in German – is a Czech film made in 1933 by the Czech director Gustav Machatý. It stars Hedy Lamarr, credited under her original surname Kiesler, and Zvonimir Rogoz....
Director: Gustav MachatyGustav MachatýGustav Machatý was a Czech film director, screenwriter and actor. He directed 17 films between 1919 and 1955, including Ecstasy... - 1933 Hans Westmar. Einer von vielen.Hans Westmar. Einer von vielen. Ein deutsches Schicksal aus dem Jahre 1929Hans Westmar. Einer von vielen. Ein deutsches Schicksal aus dem Jahre 1929 was the last of an unofficial trilogy of films commissioned by the Nazis shortly after coming to power in January 1933, celebrating their Kampfzeit - a mythologized history of their period in opposition, struggling to gain...
Director: Franz Wenzler - 1934 Der ewige Traum. Director: Arnold FanckArnold FanckArnold Fanck was a pioneer of the German mountain film....
- 1934 Der verlorene Sohn. Director: Luis Trenker
- 1938 Der Berg ruft. Director: Luis Trenker
- 1941 Viel Lärm um Nixi. Director: Erich EngelErich EngelErich Engel was a German film and theatre director.- Biography :Engel was born in Hamburg, where later he studied at the School of Applied Arts...
- 1949 Bergkristall, Director: Harald ReinlHarald ReinlHarald Reinl was an Austrian film director. He is especially known for the movies he made based on Edgar Wallace and Karl May books .He started his career as an extra in the mountain-films of Arnold Fanck...
- 1951 Nacht am Mont-Blanc, Director: Harald Reinl
- 1952 Der Herrgottschnitzer von Ammergau, Director: Harald Reinl
- 1954 TieflandTiefland (film)Tiefland is a 1954 film that Leni Riefenstahl scripted, directed, acted in, and edited. It was produced by Leni Riefenstahl and Josef Plesner. It is based on the opera Tiefland and the original play Terra baixa by Àngel Guimerà...
, Director: Leni Riefenstahl - 1955 Das Schweigen im Walde, Director: Helmut Weiss
- 1957 Der Edelweißkönig, Director: Gustav UcickyGustav UcickyGustav Ucicky was an acclaimed Austrian film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. He was one of the more successful and acclaimed directors in Austria and Germany from the 1930s through to the early 1960s...
List of Kinothek works
(by reference number)- Kinothek 11 - Situazione Pericolosa (Agitato)
- Kinothek 12 - Emotional Conflict (Sostenuto)
- Kinothek 13 - Battle-Tumult-Blaze (Allegro Agitato)
- Kinothek 14 - Tragic Moments (Andanted Mosso)
- Kinothek 15 - Agony of the Soul (Tragedia dell'Anima)
- Kinothek 16 - Insequimento E Fuga (Agitato)
- Kinothek 17 - Largo Tragico
- Kinothek 18 - Notte Misteriosa (Sinister)
- Kinothek 19 - Grave Humor (Intermezzo Serio)
- Kinothek 20 - Patience Under Pain (Resignation)
- Kinothek 21 - In a Critical Situation (Allegro Agitato)
- Kinothek 22 - Agitato Misterioso
- Kinothek 23 - The Hour of Ghosts (Heavy Misterious)
- Kinothek 24 - Battle and Disturbance (Agitato)
- Kinothek 25 - Andante Appassionato
- Kinothek 26 - Mob-Rule (Agitato)
- Kinothek 27 - Fanatic Dervish Dance
- Kinothek 28 - Lynch-Law (Agitato)
- Kinothek 29 - Disperazione (Molto Largo-Agitato-Largo)
- Kinothek 30 - Sinister Agitato
- Kinothek 31 - Insurrezione (Agitato Vivace)
- Kinothek 32 - Grand Appassionato
- Kinothek 33 - Facing Death (Andante, Largo)
- Kinothek 34 - Semi Oriental Maetoso
- Kinothek 35 - A Critical Moment (Vivace)
- Kinothek 41 - Cryptic Shadoes (Agitato Mysterioso)
- Kinothek 42 - Dramatic Climax
- Kinothek 43 - Wild Chase (Allegro Vivace)
- Kinothek 44 - Threatening Danger (Andante Dramatic)
- Kinothek 45 - Happy Ending (Andante Largo)
- Kinothek 46 - Infatuation (Andante Largo)
- Kinothek 47 - Witchcraft (Semi Mysteriou Andante)
- Kinothek 48 - Anticipation of Danger
- Kinothek 49 - Emotional Climax
- Kinothek 50 - Chariot Race
Literature
- Hans Erdmann, Giuseppe Becce, Ludwig Brav: Allgemeines Handbuch der Film-Musik. Schlesinger'sche Buchh., Berlin-Licherfelde 1927.
- Film-Ton-Kunst. Eine Zeitschrift für die künstlerische Musikillustration des Lichtbildes. Gegr. v. G. Becce. Schlesinger'sche Buchhandlung, Berlin 1.1920-6.1927.
External links
- Giuseppe Becce at the imdb
- Cyranos Biography in German
- Biographie (German)