Schlager
Encyclopedia
Schlager music is a style of popular music
prevalent in Central
and Northern Europe
and the Balkans
(in particular Germany
, Austria
, the Netherlands
, Slovenia
, Serbia
, Croatia
, Switzerland
, Scandinavia
and the Baltic States
) and also (to a lesser extent) in France
and Poland
. In Portugal
, it was adapted and became pimba
music. Typical schlager tracks are either sweet, highly sentimental ballad
s with a simple, catchy melody or light pop
tunes. Lyrics typically center on love, relationships and feelings. The northern variant of schlager (notably in Finland
) has taken elements from Nordic and Slavic folk songs, with lyrics tending towards melancholic
and elegiac
themes. Musically, schlager bears similarities to styles such as easy listening
music.
The word schlager is also a loanword in some languages (Hungarian
, Russian
, Hebrew, Romanian
, and Slovenian, for example), where it retained its meaning of a "(musical) hit". The style has been frequently represented at the Eurovision Song Contest
and has been popular since it originated in 1956, although it is gradually being replaced by other pop music
styles.
and the barrel organ
.
, when popular singers included Georg Malmstén
and Matti Jurva. A particularly notable song was opera singer Ture Ara's "Emma" in 1929. Schlager tradition had (and still has) an important place in Finnish popular music, and its melodic language has also influenced Finnish rock
. Schlager music shares its audience with Finnish tango
music, since both are popular among middle-aged and younger adults. A particular feature of Finnish schlager music were "translation schlagers" . Noteworthy Finnish schlager composers include Juha Vainio
. According to the polls conducted among Finnish audiences, "Hopeinen kuu", (originally "Guarda che luna" by Walter Malgoni and Bruno Pallesi), recorded in Finnish by Olavi Virta
and "Satulinna" (composed by Jukka Kuoppamäki
and sung by Jari Sillanpää
) are the most popular Finnish schlagers of all time.
, Freddy Quinn
, Ivo Robic
, Gerhard Wendland, Caterina Valente
, Margot Eskens
and Conny Froboess. Schlager reached its peak in popularity in Germany and Austria during the 1960s (featuring Peter Alexander and Roy Black
) and the early 1970s. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Schlager was not popular in Germany and Austria . From the mid-to-late 1990s into the early 2000s, however, German-language schlager saw an extensive revival in Germany. Even reputable dance club
s would put in a stretch of schlager titles during the course of an evening, and numerous new bands specializing in 1970s schlager cover version
s and "new" material were formed. In Hamburg
, schlager fans still (as of 2006) gather annually by the tens of thousands and dress in 1970s clothing for a street parade
called "Schlager Move". This revival is associated with kitsch
and camp
.
Popular Schlager singers include Roland Kaiser
, Jürgen Drews
, Andrea Berg
, Helene Fischer
, Nicole, Claudia Jung
, Andrea Jürgens
, Michelle
, Kristina Bach
, Marianne Rosenberg
, Simone Stelzer
, Christian Lais, Semino Rossi
, Vicky Leandros
and Leonard. Stylistically, schlager continues to influence German "party pop": music most often heard in après-ski
bars and Majorcan mass disco
s. Contemporary schlager is often mingled with Volkstümliche Musik
.
, schlager has waxed and waned in popularity since at least the 1930s. It still enjoys a large place in Swedish culture, although it is considered to be too "popular and commercial" by many people. Although the original schlager was heavily influenced by operetta
s, cabaret- and variety-style music and jazz
, this started to change during the 1960s and 1970s when schlager music became more pop-oriented. Since the early 1990s, schlager songs began to include elements of rock
and techno
. Therefore, modern schlager music little resembles that of the 1940s. Despite this, many old schlager tunes are still popular; they are performed by many artists and at the Allsång på Skansen
.
The Melodifestival
(which selects the Swedish competitor at the Eurovision Song Contest
) is popularly called Schlagerfestivalen ("the Schlager Festival"), since it has traditionally been characterized by schlager songs. The amount of schlager has decreased drastically in recent years, but schlager songs are the most likely genre to win the competition ("Evighet" ("Invincible" in 2006 by Carola
and "Hero
" by Charlotte Perrelli
in 2008, for example). Melodifestivalen is the most popular TV program in Sweden. It is broadcast annually, and in 2006 an estimated 47 percent of the Swedish population watched the final. In Sweden "schlager" is often used to refer to Eurovision-participating songs (especially those from Malta
, known for its schlager entries).
Two characteristics of Swedish schlager are a pronounced key change before the final chorus and their three-minute length (the maximum song length permitted at the Eurovision Song Contest). Some Swedes dispute the meaning of "schlager" with respect to Swedish music; it may be used indiscriminately to describe all popular music, "older-sounding" popular music, Melodifestivalen songs, Eurovision songs, songs with a "catchy" chorus or dansband
music.
began to appear in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The first (and most influential) festival of schlager music was the Zagreb Festival of Popular Music (later known as Zagrebfest), which began in 1953 and still takes place annually in Zagreb
. Many schlagers performed at Zagrebfest over the past five decades are an integral part of the Croatia
n and Yugoslav
pop-music scene. The first schlager singers were Ivo Robić
and Rajka Vali
, but over time Zagreb
school of schlagers came to include such singers as Arsen Dedić
, Hrvoje Hegedušić, Ivica Percl, Gabi Novak
, Frano Lasić
, Jasna Zlokić, Zdravko Čolić
, and many others. Main composers of schlagers included Fedor Kopsa, Krešimir Oblak, Ferdo Pomykalo, Miljenko Prohaska
, Nikica Kalogjera, Bojan Hohnjec, Vanja Lisak, Zvonko Špišić, Ivica Stamać and Hrvoje Hegedušić. Some Zagrebfest artists (such as Ivo Robić
and Tereza Kesovija
) would later have successful careers in Germany
and France
. Other pioneers of schlagers include Darko Kraljić (from Zagreb), who worked in Belgrade
. He is best known by his hit "Čamac na Tisi" (sung by Lola Novaković
and popular in revolutionary Hungary
) and his music for the film Ljubav i moda ("Devojko mala
" and "Pod sjajem zvezda
", performed by Vokalni kvartet Predraga Ivanovića).
and USA, due to the constant change of fashion in popular culture
it has generally fallen out of favour since the 1970s. However, for a time during the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s an element of British pop music could be compared to contemporary schlager (although the term is virtually unknown in the UK)—especially from the highly successful group Steps and, to a lesser extent, its predecessors Deuce
and Scooch
. The word "schlager" is in limited use in the US as slang for music intended for young teenagers and tweens, including artists such as Avril Lavigne
and Justin Beiber and on Hannah Montana
, especially if the music contains inappropriate sexual references or innuendo.
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
prevalent in Central
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
and the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
(in particular Germany
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...
, 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...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and the Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
) and also (to a lesser extent) in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. In Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, it was adapted and became pimba
Pimba
Pimba is a Portuguese depreciatory term used for qualifying a variety of popular Portuguese pop and folk solo singers as well as bands, possibly inspired in Schlager, who focus on simplistic catchy songs with rough lyrics frequently driven by metaphors with sexual meanings, or focused on basic and...
music. Typical schlager tracks are either sweet, highly sentimental ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s with a simple, catchy melody or light pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
tunes. Lyrics typically center on love, relationships and feelings. The northern variant of schlager (notably in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
) has taken elements from Nordic and Slavic folk songs, with lyrics tending towards melancholic
Melancholia
Melancholia , also lugubriousness, from the Latin lugere, to mourn; moroseness, from the Latin morosus, self-willed, fastidious habit; wistfulness, from old English wist: intent, or saturnine, , in contemporary usage, is a mood disorder of non-specific depression,...
and elegiac
Elegiac
Elegiac refers either to those compositions that are like elegies or to a specific poetic meter used in Classical elegies. The Classical elegiac meter has two lines, making it a couplet: a line of dactylic hexameter, followed by a line of dactylic pentameter...
themes. Musically, schlager bears similarities to styles such as easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
music.
The word schlager is also a loanword in some languages (Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Hebrew, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, and Slovenian, for example), where it retained its meaning of a "(musical) hit". The style has been frequently represented at the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
and has been popular since it originated in 1956, although it is gradually being replaced by other pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
styles.
The Netherlands
Dutch schlager is called levenslied . It is a sentimental, Dutch-language sub-genre of pop music. Typical levenslied lyrics are sweet and concern subjects such as love, misery and far, sunny, exotic holiday places. A typical levenslied has catchy, simple rhythms and melodies (in common with many pop and folk tunes) and is structured in couplets and refrains. Traditional instruments in levenslied music are the accordionAccordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
and the barrel organ
Barrel organ
A barrel organ is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated...
.
Finland
The roots of Finnish schlager date back to the interwar periodInterwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
, when popular singers included Georg Malmstén
Georg Malmstén
Georg Malmstén was a Finnish-Swedish singer, musician, composer, orchestra conductor and actor. He was one of the most prolific entertainers in Finland of his time, producing over 800 records in numerous genres. In late 1930s, owning a record company, he made about half of his releases under the...
and Matti Jurva. A particularly notable song was opera singer Ture Ara's "Emma" in 1929. Schlager tradition had (and still has) an important place in Finnish popular music, and its melodic language has also influenced Finnish rock
Finnish rock
Finnish rock refers to rock music made in Finland. The initial rock and roll boom of the 1950s was preceded by a long tradition of popular culture...
. Schlager music shares its audience with Finnish tango
Finnish tango
Finnish tango is an established variation of the Argentine tango and one of the most enduring and popular music forms in Finland. Brought to Europe in the 1910s by travelling musicians, Finns began to take up the form and write their own tangos in the 1930s...
music, since both are popular among middle-aged and younger adults. A particular feature of Finnish schlager music were "translation schlagers" . Noteworthy Finnish schlager composers include Juha Vainio
Juha Vainio
Juha Harri "Junnu" Vainio, also known as Juha "Watt" Vainio was a Finnish lyricist, singer, composer and teacher. With the lyrics or music to over 2,400 songs to his name, Vainio is as one of Finland's most prolific lyricists along with Reino Helismaa and Vexi Salmi...
. According to the polls conducted among Finnish audiences, "Hopeinen kuu", (originally "Guarda che luna" by Walter Malgoni and Bruno Pallesi), recorded in Finnish by Olavi Virta
Olavi Virta
Olavi Virta was a Finnish singer, acclaimed as the king of Finnish tango. Between 1939 and 1966 he recorded almost 600 songs, many of which are classics of Finnish popular music, and appeared in many films and theatrical productions...
and "Satulinna" (composed by Jukka Kuoppamäki
Jukka Kuoppamäki
Jukka Kuoppamäki is a Finnish singer, songwriter and priest for The Christian Community in Germany. He visits his summer house in Finland every year. He is one of the most prolific Finnish popular singer-songwriters and has written over 1 500 songs for himself and other famous Finnish singers...
and sung by Jari Sillanpää
Jari Sillanpää
Jari Sillanpää a Finnish singer. With over 820,000 records sold, he is the fourth-best-selling music artist and best-selling solo artist in Finland....
) are the most popular Finnish schlagers of all time.
Germany and Austria
The roots of German schlager are old; well-known singers during the 1950s and the early 1960s included Lale AndersenLale Andersen
Lale Andersen was a German chanson singer-songwriter born in Bremerhaven, Germany. She is best known for her interpretation of the song "Lili Marleen" in 1939, which became tremendously popular on both sides during the Second World War.- Early life :She was born in Lehe and baptized Liese-Lotte...
, Freddy Quinn
Freddy Quinn
Freddy Quinn is an Austrian singer and actor whose popularity within the German-speaking world soared in the late 1950s and 1960s. Similar to Hans Albers two generations before him, Quinn adopted the persona of the rootless wanderer who goes to sea but longs for a home, family and friends...
, Ivo Robic
Ivo Robic
Ivo Robić was Croatian singer and songwriter.-Domestic career:Robić began his career as a soloist with the Radio Zagreb Orchestra, while studying at the same time in Zagreb...
, Gerhard Wendland, Caterina Valente
Caterina Valente
Caterina Valente is a singer, dancer, and actress. She was born into an Italian artist family; her father Giuseppe was a well-known accordion player, her mother, Maria Valente, a musical clown...
, Margot Eskens
Margot Eskens
Margot Eskens is a German Schlager singer, most popular in the 1950s and 1960s. She continued to be a frequent guest on television programs into the 2000s....
and Conny Froboess. Schlager reached its peak in popularity in Germany and Austria during the 1960s (featuring Peter Alexander and Roy Black
Roy Black (singer)
Roy Black was a German schlager singer and actor, who appeared in several musical comedies and starred in the 1989 TV series, Ein Schloß am Wörthersee....
) and the early 1970s. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Schlager was not popular in Germany and Austria . From the mid-to-late 1990s into the early 2000s, however, German-language schlager saw an extensive revival in Germany. Even reputable dance club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s would put in a stretch of schlager titles during the course of an evening, and numerous new bands specializing in 1970s schlager cover version
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...
s and "new" material were formed. In Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, schlager fans still (as of 2006) gather annually by the tens of thousands and dress in 1970s clothing for a street parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
called "Schlager Move". This revival is associated with kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
and camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
.
Popular Schlager singers include Roland Kaiser
Roland Kaiser
Roland Kaiser is a schlager singer-songwriter from Germany. He is one of the most successful German speaking schlager-singers.- Biography :...
, Jürgen Drews
Jürgen Drews
Jürgen Drews is a German singer.-Life:In his childhood Drews lived in Schleswig. After school Drews studied medicine in Kiel at the University of Kiel, but dropped out of medical school to work as a singer....
, Andrea Berg
Andrea Berg
Andrea Berg is a German singer in the schlager genre.Berg was born in Krefeld. As a child she would experiment with performing short sketches at carnivals and other celebrations. She later played with a band, and also worked backstage on stage set-up and drove the band's van...
, Helene Fischer
Helene Fischer
Helene Fischer is a German singer and entertainer. Since her debut in 2005 she has had won several awards, including three "Echo" awards and three "Krone der Volksmusik" awards.-Upbringing and education:...
, Nicole, Claudia Jung
Claudia Jung
Claudia Jung , is a German Schlager singer and politician.-Biography:...
, Andrea Jürgens
Andrea Jürgens
Andrea Elisabeth Maria Jürgens is a German schlager singer. She became famous as a child star in the late 1970s when she had her first hit with "Und dabei liebe ich euch beide" at the age of ten...
, Michelle
Michelle (German singer)
Michelle is the stage name of German singer Tanja Shitawey . She was born in Villingen-Schwenningen on 15 February 1972. She represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song Wer Liebe lebt , which placed 8th from 23 participating countries with 66 points...
, Kristina Bach
Kristina Bach
Kristina Bach is a German "Schlager" singer, lyricist and music producer. Bach is noted for her 3 ½-octave vocal range.-Biography:...
, Marianne Rosenberg
Marianne Rosenberg
Marianne Rosenberg is a German Schlager music singer and songwriter.Marianne Rosenberg is the third of seven children from Auschwitz survivor Otto Rosenberg, who was a long-time advocate and representative of the Sinti and Roma peoples in Germany, a function which Marianne's sister Petra later...
, Simone Stelzer
Simone Stelzer
Simone Stelzer alias Simone is an Austrian pop singer. She was born in Vienna, Austria on 1 October 1969.In 1990 she participated in "Ein Lied für Zagreb", the Austrian qualifying heat for the Eurovision Song Contest. Her song "Keine Mauern mehr" was initially placed second...
, Christian Lais, Semino Rossi
Semino Rossi
Semino Rossi is an Argentine-Italian schlager singer living with his south-tyrolian wife in Mils, Tyrol, Austria.-Discography:-External links:*...
, Vicky Leandros
Vicky Leandros
Vicky Leandros is a Greek singer with a long international career. She is the daughter of singer, musician and composer Leandros Papathanasiou...
and Leonard. Stylistically, schlager continues to influence German "party pop": music most often heard in après-ski
Après-ski
Après-ski refers to going out, having drinks, dancing, and generally socializing after skiing. It is popular in the Alps, where skiers often stop at bars on their last run of the day while still wearing all their ski gear. The concept is similar to the nineteenth hole in golf. This can also...
bars and Majorcan mass disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
s. Contemporary schlager is often mingled with Volkstümliche Musik
Volkstümliche Musik
Volkstümliche Musik is a modern variation on the traditional music of German-speaking countries in general and their Alpine regions in particular...
.
Sweden
In SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, schlager has waxed and waned in popularity since at least the 1930s. It still enjoys a large place in Swedish culture, although it is considered to be too "popular and commercial" by many people. Although the original schlager was heavily influenced by 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, cabaret- and variety-style music and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, this started to change during the 1960s and 1970s when schlager music became more pop-oriented. Since the early 1990s, schlager songs began to include elements of rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
. Therefore, modern schlager music little resembles that of the 1940s. Despite this, many old schlager tunes are still popular; they are performed by many artists and at the Allsång på Skansen
Allsång på Skansen
Allsång på Skansen is a Swedish show held at Skansen, Stockholm, every summer on Tuesdays between 8pm and 9pm. The audience is supposed to sing along with musical guests, to well-known Swedish songs. The show started in 1935 on a small scale - about fifty people in the audience...
.
The Melodifestival
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959...
(which selects the Swedish competitor at the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
) is popularly called Schlagerfestivalen ("the Schlager Festival"), since it has traditionally been characterized by schlager songs. The amount of schlager has decreased drastically in recent years, but schlager songs are the most likely genre to win the competition ("Evighet" ("Invincible" in 2006 by Carola
Carola
Carola is a female given name, the Latinized form of the Germanic given names Caroline or Carol.Famous people named Carola include:* Carola Dunn, British-American writer...
and "Hero
Hero (Charlotte Perrelli song)
"Hero" is a 2008 pop song performed by the Swedish singer Charlotte Perrelli written by Fredrik Kempe and Bobby Ljunggren. It was rumoured the song was going to be sung by Måns Zelmerlöw, but Charlotte was first choice and finally Charlotte was chosen for the SVT. It won the Melodifestivalen 2008...
" by Charlotte Perrelli
Charlotte Perrelli
Charlotte Perrelli is a Swedish singer and occasional television host, perhaps most famous for winning the 1999 Melodifestivalen and subsequently that year's Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Take Me to Your Heaven."Since then she has released six singles and five albums...
in 2008, for example). Melodifestivalen is the most popular TV program in Sweden. It is broadcast annually, and in 2006 an estimated 47 percent of the Swedish population watched the final. In Sweden "schlager" is often used to refer to Eurovision-participating songs (especially those from Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, known for its schlager entries).
Two characteristics of Swedish schlager are a pronounced key change before the final chorus and their three-minute length (the maximum song length permitted at the Eurovision Song Contest). Some Swedes dispute the meaning of "schlager" with respect to Swedish music; it may be used indiscriminately to describe all popular music, "older-sounding" popular music, Melodifestivalen songs, Eurovision songs, songs with a "catchy" chorus or dansband
Dansband
Dansband is a Swedish term for a band that plays dansbandsmusik . Dansbandsmusik is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by swing, schlager, country, jazz, and rock...
music.
Former Yugoslavia
The first schlager music in the former YugoslaviaYugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
began to appear in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The first (and most influential) festival of schlager music was the Zagreb Festival of Popular Music (later known as Zagrebfest), which began in 1953 and still takes place annually in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
. Many schlagers performed at Zagrebfest over the past five decades are an integral part of the Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n and Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
pop-music scene. The first schlager singers were Ivo Robić
Ivo Robic
Ivo Robić was Croatian singer and songwriter.-Domestic career:Robić began his career as a soloist with the Radio Zagreb Orchestra, while studying at the same time in Zagreb...
and Rajka Vali
Rajka Vali
Valerija Raukar most commonly known by her stage name Rajka Vali is an Croatian pop music singer who enjoyed success through the 1940s and 1950s....
, but over time Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
school of schlagers came to include such singers as Arsen Dedić
Arsen Dedic
Arsen Dedić is a Croatian singer-songwriter who has been prominent in the Croatian as well as former Yugoslav music scene. Dedić writes and performs chansons as well as film music...
, Hrvoje Hegedušić, Ivica Percl, Gabi Novak
Gabi Novak
Gabi Novak is a Croatian pop and jazz singer. She became famous in the 1960s.Gabi was born to a Croatian father and a German mother.She is married to Arsen Dedić, a renowned singer-songwriter who also composed many of her songs....
, Frano Lasić
Frano Lasić
Frano Lasić is a Croatian actor and singer.- Television roles :* "Ruža vjetrova" as Milivoj Matošić * "Dolina sunca" as Toni Herceg * "Ples sa zvijezdama" as Frano Lasić...
, Jasna Zlokić, Zdravko Čolić
Zdravko Colic
Zdravko Čolić , is a pop singer popular across the entire area of former Yugoslavia. Originally from Sarajevo, since 1992 , his home is in Belgrade, Serbia...
, and many others. Main composers of schlagers included Fedor Kopsa, Krešimir Oblak, Ferdo Pomykalo, Miljenko Prohaska
Miljenko Prohaska
Miljenko Prohaska is a notable Croatian composer, music arranger and orchestra conductor.His is mainly known for founding a number of prominent Croatian orchestras and for his longtime service as the conductor of the Radio Zagreb Dance Orchestra .Prohaska first began learning the violin at a...
, Nikica Kalogjera, Bojan Hohnjec, Vanja Lisak, Zvonko Špišić, Ivica Stamać and Hrvoje Hegedušić. Some Zagrebfest artists (such as Ivo Robić
Ivo Robic
Ivo Robić was Croatian singer and songwriter.-Domestic career:Robić began his career as a soloist with the Radio Zagreb Orchestra, while studying at the same time in Zagreb...
and Tereza Kesovija
Tereza Kesovija
Tereza Ana Kesovija is an internationally acclaimed Croatian singer, one of the most recognisable figures on the Balkan music scene, renowned for her wide vocal range and operatic style and one of the most important artists of the former Yugoslavia. She also had a very successful career in France...
) would later have successful careers in Germany
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...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Other pioneers of schlagers include Darko Kraljić (from Zagreb), who worked in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. He is best known by his hit "Čamac na Tisi" (sung by Lola Novaković
Lola Novakovic
Zorana "Lola" Novaković is a Serbian singer, hugely popular during 1960s and to a lesser degree 1970s. Internationally, she is most notable for representing FPR Yugoslavia at Eurovision Song Contest in 1962 where she finished 4th.- References :...
and popular in revolutionary Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
) and his music for the film Ljubav i moda ("Devojko mala
Devojko mala
"Devojko mala" is a popular fifties song composed by Darko Kraljić and recorded by Vlastimir "Đuza" Stojiljković for the soundtrack of the Ljubav i moda film in which he was also had the starring role...
" and "Pod sjajem zvezda
Pod sjajem zvezda
"Pod sjajem zvezda" is a Serbian evergreen song composed in 1958, by Predrag Ivanović, with lyrics by Mirjana Savić and recorded by Serbian quartet Vokalni kvartet Predraga Ivanovića for the soundtrack of the 1960 Ljubav i moda film...
", performed by Vokalni kvartet Predraga Ivanovića).
Elsewhere
While at one time schlager was also fairly popular in the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and USA, due to the constant change of fashion in popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
it has generally fallen out of favour since the 1970s. However, for a time during the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s an element of British pop music could be compared to contemporary schlager (although the term is virtually unknown in the UK)—especially from the highly successful group Steps and, to a lesser extent, its predecessors Deuce
Deuce (band)
Deuce were a British pop group that found success in the mid 1990s. A two male, two female quartet, they released four Top 30 singles in the UK charts during 1995 and 1996, before splitting up in 1997.-Career:...
and Scooch
Scooch
Scooch are a British bubblegum dance group, comprising performers Natalie Powers, Caroline Barnes, David Ducasse and Russ Spencer.Scooch represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki with their song "Flying the Flag ", finishing 23rd out of 24 entries after...
. The word "schlager" is in limited use in the US as slang for music intended for young teenagers and tweens, including artists such as Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
and Justin Beiber and on Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real...
, especially if the music contains inappropriate sexual references or innuendo.
See also
- Schlager and Volksmusik (genre)
- LevensliedLevensliedA levenslied is a highly sentimental Dutch-language sub-genre of pop music. Typical levenslied-lyrics are very sweet, highly sentimental and about subjects such as love, misery and far-away, sunny, exotic holiday places.A typical levenslied has catchy, simple rhythms and melodies, with many pop...
, equivalent genre in the Netherlands. - Compare: adult contemporary musicAdult contemporary musicAdult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
, mainstream contemporary pop music (on the radio) intended for a mature adult audience