Max Raabe
Encyclopedia
Max Raabe is a German
singer. He is particularly noted as the founder and leader of the Palast Orchester
.
Raabe developed an interest in the sound of German dance and film music of the 1920s and 1930s, such as the songs of the Comedian Harmonists
, from seeing old films on television and from his parents' record collection. He formally studied music at the Berlin University of the Arts
, intending originally to become a baritone
opera
singer. He and 11 other students formed the Palast Orchester in 1985. The ensemble initially used music arrangements that Raabe found whilst shopping at various flea markets. The orchestra worked for one year on learning these arrangements without any public engagements or performances. The orchestra gave its first public performance at the 1987 Berlin Theaterball, in the lobby as a secondary act, but with such success that the audience left the ballroom to hear the orchestra's performance in the lobby. Raabe and the Palast Orchester had a hit with his 1992 original, Schlager
-styled song "Kein Schwein ruft mich an" ("No One Ever Calls, No One Has a Care for Me"; literal translation "No pig calls me"), a pop song in 1920s' style.
In addition to covers of vintage music, Raabe writes original songs and music, including film music. He and the orchestra have also created covers
of modern pop songs in a 1920–1930s band style, including songs by Britney Spears
, Tom Jones
, and Salt'n'Pepa. Raabe has also made a number of cameo appearances, mostly as stereotypical 1920s and 1930s singers and entertainers, in a number of films by German directors, such as Der bewegte Mann
(1994; English title "Maybe, Maybe Not"), Werner Herzog
's Invincible
(2001), and Wenzel Storch
's Die Reise ins Glück (2004). His live theatre performances have included a 1994 appearance as Dr. Siedler in the Berlin 'Bar jeder Vernunft' version of The White Horse Inn
, and 1999 performances as Mack the Knife
in Kurt Weill
and Bertholt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera
alongside Nina Hagen
.
Raabe first performed in the USA in Los Angeles in 2004. In 2005, he had his first concert in New York City's Carnegie Hall
. He and the Palast Orchester subsequently appeared at Carnegie Hall in 2007 and 2010. In 2011 Raabe produced an album, Küssen kann man nicht alleine (You cannot kiss alone), with former new wave musician and famous producer Annette Humpe
, who also wrote the lyrics.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
singer. He is particularly noted as the founder and leader of the Palast Orchester
Palast Orchester
The Palast Orchester is a German orchestra, based in Berlin, constituted in the manner of dance bands of the 1920s and 1930s. Its repertoire specialises in cabaret and popular songs of the Weimar period in Germany and in American popular songs of the same era...
.
Raabe developed an interest in the sound of German dance and film music of the 1920s and 1930s, such as the songs of the Comedian Harmonists
Comedian Harmonists
The Comedian Harmonists were an internationally famous, all-male German close harmony ensemble that performed between 1928 and 1934 as one of the most successful musical groups in Europe before World War II...
, from seeing old films on television and from his parents' record collection. He formally studied music at the Berlin University of the Arts
Berlin University of the Arts
The Universität der Künste Berlin, UdK is a public art school in Berlin, Germany, one of the four universities in the city...
, intending originally to become a baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
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...
singer. He and 11 other students formed the Palast Orchester in 1985. The ensemble initially used music arrangements that Raabe found whilst shopping at various flea markets. The orchestra worked for one year on learning these arrangements without any public engagements or performances. The orchestra gave its first public performance at the 1987 Berlin Theaterball, in the lobby as a secondary act, but with such success that the audience left the ballroom to hear the orchestra's performance in the lobby. Raabe and the Palast Orchester had a hit with his 1992 original, Schlager
Schlager
Schlager music is a style of popular music prevalent in Central and Northern Europe and the Balkans and also in France and Poland. In Portugal, it was adapted and became pimba music...
-styled song "Kein Schwein ruft mich an" ("No One Ever Calls, No One Has a Care for Me"; literal translation "No pig calls me"), a pop song in 1920s' style.
In addition to covers of vintage music, Raabe writes original songs and music, including film music. He and the orchestra have also created covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of modern pop songs in a 1920–1930s band style, including songs by Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, and Salt'n'Pepa. Raabe has also made a number of cameo appearances, mostly as stereotypical 1920s and 1930s singers and entertainers, in a number of films by German directors, such as Der bewegte Mann
Der bewegte Mann
Der bewegte Mann is a 1994 German film comedy directed by Sönke Wortmann and starring Til Schweiger, Rufus Beck, Joachim Król and Katja Riemann....
(1994; English title "Maybe, Maybe Not"), Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
's Invincible
Invincible (2001 film)
Invincible is a 2001 drama film written and directed by Werner Herzog. The film stars Tim Roth, Jouko Ahola, Anna Gourari, and Max Raabe. The film tells the story of a Jewish strongman in Germany...
(2001), and Wenzel Storch
Wenzel Storch
Wenzel Storch is a German film director and producer.His low-budget fantasy films tend to be critical towards the church and are filled with weird characters and settings as well as violence and bodily fluids.- Films :...
's Die Reise ins Glück (2004). His live theatre performances have included a 1994 appearance as Dr. Siedler in the Berlin 'Bar jeder Vernunft' version of The White Horse Inn
The White Horse Inn
Im weißen Rößl is an operetta or musical comedy set in the picturesque Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria. It is about the head waiter of the White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang who is desperately in love with the owner of the inn, a resolute young woman who at first only has eyes for one of her...
, and 1999 performances as Mack the Knife
Mack the Knife
"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928 at the...
in Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
and Bertholt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
alongside Nina Hagen
Nina Hagen
Nina Hagen is a German singer and actress.-Early years:Hagen was born as Catharina Hagen in the former East Berlin, East Germany, the daughter of Hans Hagen , a scriptwriter, and Eva-Maria Hagen, an actress and singer...
.
Raabe first performed in the USA in Los Angeles in 2004. In 2005, he had his first concert in New York City's Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
. He and the Palast Orchester subsequently appeared at Carnegie Hall in 2007 and 2010. In 2011 Raabe produced an album, Küssen kann man nicht alleine (You cannot kiss alone), with former new wave musician and famous producer Annette Humpe
Annette Humpe
Annette Humpe is a famous German songwriter, pop singer and record producer. Her band Ideal was one of the most important and seminal representatives of the Neue Deutsche Welle...
, who also wrote the lyrics.
Discography
- Die Männer sind schon die Liebe wert (1988)
- Kleines Fräulein, einen Augenblick (1989)
- Ich hör’ so gern Musik (1991)
- Kein Schwein ruft mich an (1992)
- Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus (1992)
- Wintergarten-Edition Live (1996)
- Dort tanzt Lu-Lu! (1996)
- Ich hör’ so gern Musik (1996)
- Bel Ami (1996)
- Music, Maestro, Please (1996)
- Die Dreigroschenoper (The Three penny opera) w. HK Gruber, Nina Hagen and Ensemble Modern (1999)
- 10 Jahre Palast Orchester mit seinem Sänger Max Raabe (1997)
- Krokodile und andere Hausfreunde (2000)
- Superhits (2001)
- Superhits Nummer 2 (2001)
- Heute Nacht Oder Nie ("Tonight or Never", 2008) – A 2CD set of the live performance of Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester at Carnegie Hall, November 2007, released on September 23, 2008.)
- Übers Meer (15.01.2010)
- Küssen kann man nicht alleine (2011) (with Annette HumpeAnnette HumpeAnnette Humpe is a famous German songwriter, pop singer and record producer. Her band Ideal was one of the most important and seminal representatives of the Neue Deutsche Welle...
)
External links
- Max Raabe's home page (English and German)
- Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester on MySpace
- Opus3 Artists agency page
- Goethe Institute page on Max Raabe
- "Max Raabe's Palast Orchester: Timeless Elegance". All Things Considered (National Public Radio), 19 October 2008.
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra page on Max Raabe
- Helnwein Museum, "Marilyn Manson Marries Dita von Teese at Helnwein's Irish Castle. Helnwein is best man. 3 December 2005
- All About Jazz, "Max Raabe & Palast Orchester Release and US Tour". September 24, 2008