Robert Stolz
Encyclopedia
- For the Swedish football defender, see Robert StoltzRobert StoltzRobert Stoltz is a Swedish football defender, currently representing Enköpings SK.He joined the Djurgårdens IF for the 2006 season, leaving Kalmar FF. After two seasons with the club he was put on loan to Enköpings SK for the rest of the 2008 season. Stoltz got little time on the pitch being...
.
Robert Elisabeth Stolz (25 August 188027 June 1975) was an Austria
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 songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
as well as a 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...
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 film music
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...
.
Biography
The great-nephew of the soprano Teresa StolzTeresa Stolz
Teresa Stolz was a Bohemian soprano, long resident in Italy, who was associated with significant premieres of the works of Giuseppe Verdi, and may have been his mistress...
, Stolz was born of musical parents in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
. His father was a conductor and his mother a concert pianist. At the age of seven, he toured Europe as a pianist, playing Mozart. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory with Robert Fuchs
Robert Fuchs
Robert Fuchs was an Austrian composer and music teacher.As Professor of music theory at the Vienna Conservatory, Fuchs taught many notable composers, while he was himself a highly regarded composer in his lifetime....
and Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel. Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province; at the age of 67 he died in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.-Life:After receiving piano lessons, Humperdinck produced his first composition...
. From 1899 he held successive conducting posts at Maribor
Maribor
Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor....
(then called Marburg), Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
and Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
before succeeding Artur Bodanzky
Artur Bodanzky
Artur Bodanzky was an Austrian-American conductor particularly associated with the operas of Wagner.- Career :...
at the Theater an der Wien
Theater an der Wien
The Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...
in 1907. There he conducted, among other pieces, the first performance of Oscar Straus
Oscar Straus (composer)
Oscar Nathan Straus was a Viennese composer of operettas and film scores and songs. He also wrote about 500 cabaret songs, chamber music, and orchestral and choral works...
's Der tapfere Soldat (The Chocolate Soldier
The Chocolate Soldier
The Chocolate Soldier is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, Arms and the Man...
) in 1908, before leaving in 1910 to become a freelance composer and conductor. Meanwhile, he had begun to compose operettas and individual songs and had a number of successes in these fields.
After serving in the Austrian Army
Military of Austria
The Österreichisches Bundesheer , is the name for the military of the Republic of Austria....
in 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...
, Stolz devoted himself mainly to cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
, and moved to 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...
in 1925. Around 1930, he started to compose music for film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, such as the first German sound film Zwei Herzen im Dreivierteltakt (Two Hearts in Waltz Time
Two Hearts in Waltz Time
Two Hearts in Waltz Time is a 1930 German film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Walter Janssen, Oskar Karlweis, Willi Forst, Gretl Theimer and S.Z. Sakall...
), of which the title-waltz rapidly became a popular favourite. Some earlier Stolz compositions, such as "Adieu, mein kleiner Gardeoffizier" from his operetta Die lustigen Weiber von Wien, became known to wider audiences through the medium of film.
The rise of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
led Stolz to return to Vienna, where his title-song for the film Ungeküsst soll man nicht schlafen gehn
Ungeküsst soll man nicht schlafen gehn
Ungeküsst soll man nicht schlafen gehn , also known as Wer zuletzt küsst... is a 1936 Austrian comedy film. The screenplay was written by Fritz Koselka, the title song was composed by Robert Stolz, and the movie was directed by E. W...
was a hit, but then came the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
, and he moved again, first to Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and then to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where in 1939 he was interned
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
as an enemy alien
Enemy alien
In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
. With the help of friends he was released and in 1940 made his way to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
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....
. As a result, he received many invitations to compose music for shows and films, and he received two Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nominations: "Waltzing in the Clouds" was nominated for Best Original Song in 1941, and his score for It Happened Tomorrow
It Happened Tomorrow
It Happened Tomorrow is a 1944 fantasy film starring Dick Powell, Linda Darnell and Jack Oakie, and featuring Edgar Kennedy and Sig Ruman. It was directed by René Clair.-Plot:...
was nominated for Best Dramatic or Comedy Picture Score
Academy Award for Original Music Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
in 1945.
In 1946 Stolz returned to Vienna, where he lived for the rest of his life. In the 1960s and 1970s he made a number of recordings
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
of operettas by composers such as Johann Strauss
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
, Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár was an Austrian-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow .-Biography:...
, Emmerich Kálmán
Emmerich Kalman
Emmerich Kálmán was a Hungarian-born composer of operettas.- Biography :Kálmán was born Imre Koppstein in Siófok, on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, Hungary in a Jewish family.Kálmán initially intended to become a concert pianist, but because of early-onset arthritis, he focused on composition...
, and Leo Fall
Leo Fall
Leo Fall was an Austrian composer of operettas.-Life:Born in Olmütz , Leo Fall was taught by his father Moritz Fall , a bandmaster and composer, who settled in Berlin. The younger Fall studied at the Vienna Conservatory before rejoining his father in Berlin...
, whom he had known previously.
In 1952, he began to compose for the Vienna Ice Revue
Vienna Ice Revue
The Vienna Ice Revue was an internationally highly successful ice show based upon Austria's great figure-skating tradition, presenting a large number of world-class figure skaters mainly from Vienna from 1945 to 1971. Representing a Viennese style, the Vienna Ice Revue was different from the...
. He dedicated his first of 19 ice operettas ("Eternal Eve") to European Champion Eva Pawlik
Eva Pawlik
Eva Pawlik was an Austrian figure skater , a show star, an actress and the first European figure skater to be a TV figure skating commentator .-Childhood:Born in 1927, Pawlik was regarded as a child prodigy, able to jump a single axel and do a large number of spins...
. In 1970, to mark his 90th birthday, he was made an Honorary Citizen of Vienna. He was also awarded Vienna's Grand Medal of Honour, being only the second musician ever to be so honoured (after Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
). He also appeared on a series of commemorative Austrian postage stamps.
In later years he used a baton inherited from Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár was an Austrian-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow .-Biography:...
, that had been originally owned by Johann Strauss and contained Strauss's initials engraved in silver.
After his death in Berlin in 1975, Robert Stolz received the honour of a lying-in-state in the foyer of the Vienna State Opera House
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
. He was buried near Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
and Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
in Vienna's Zentralfriedhof
Zentralfriedhof
The Zentralfriedhof is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, largest by number of interred in Europe and most famous cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries.-Name and location:...
, and a statue to him was erected in the Wiener Stadtpark.
Marriages
Robert Stolz was married five times. His first and second wives (Grete Holm and Franzi Ressel), were singers. His third wife was Josephine Zernitz and the fourth name was Lilli. His fifth wife Yvonne Louise Ulrich, called "Einzi" (1912-2004), was his manager until his death. He had one daughter from his first marriage.Selected operettas
- Das Glücksmädel (1910)
- Der Tanz ins Glück (The Dance into Happiness) (1921)
- Im weißen Rößl (The White Horse InnThe White Horse InnIm 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...
) (1930), jointly with Ralph BenatzkyRalph BenatzkyRalph Benatzky , Moravia, Austrian Empire – 16 October 1957), born in Moravské Budějovice as Rudolf Josef František Benatzki, was an Austrian composer of Czech origin... - Wenn die kleinen Veilchen blühen (When the Little Violets Bloom or Wild Violets) (1932)
- Der verlorene Walzer, a stage version of the film Zwei Herzen im Dreivierteltakt (1933)
Selected songs
- "Servus Du" (1912) words by Benno VignyBenno VignyBenno Vigny was a French-German novelist and screenwriter.- Life and works :Vigny was born in Commercy and grew up in Vienna. He moved to Berlin in the 1920s...
- "Wien wird erst schön bei Nacht" words by Wilhelm Sterk
- "Im Prater blühn wieder die Bäume" words by Kurt Robitschek
- "Das ist der Frühling in Wien" words by Arthur Rebner
- "Du, du, du sollst der Kaiser meiner Seele sein." (1916)
- "Hallo, du süsse Klingelfee" (1919) words by Arthur Rebner
- "Salome, schönste Blume des Morgenlands" (1920) words by Arthur Rebner
- "Ich will deine Kameradin sein" words by Walter Reisch
- "Die ganze Welt ist himmelblau" words by Robert GilbertRobert Gilbert (musician)Robert Gilbert was a German composer of light music, lyricist, singer, and actor. His father was Max Winterfeld, a composer and conductor who went by the pen name of Jean Gilbert...
- "Zwei Herzen im Dreivierteltakt" (Two Hearts in 3/4 Time) words by Walter ReischWalter ReischWalter Reisch was an Austrian-born director and screenwriter. He also wrote lyrics to several songs featured in his films, one popular title is "Flieger, grüß mir die Sonne".-Selected filmography:...
- "Das Lied ist aus" (Frag nicht warum) (1930) with words by Walter Reisch from the 1930 film Das Lied ist aus directed by Géza von BolváryGéza von BolváryGéza von Bolváry was a Hungarian actor, screenwriter and film director, who worked principally in Germany and Austria.- Biography :...
- "Wiener-Café" (Waltz)
- "Adieu mein kleiner Gardeoffizier" words by Bruno Balz