Eduard Künneke

Eduard Künneke (also seen as Edward and spelled Künnecke) (27 January 1885 – 27 October 1953 in Berlin) was a German composer notable for his operettas, operas, theatre music and some orchestral works.

Kuenneke was born in

Fifth and Sixth Symphonies with the "Grosses Odeon Streich-Orchester".

In 1911 Künneke became a conductor of the German Theatre in Berlin, where he wrote incidental music for

Das Dreimaderlhaus (Blossom Time). This inspired him to write an equally maudlin singspiel Das Dorf ohne Glocke (The Village without a Bell)(1919). Subsequently he composed one operetta after another, altogether more than a dozen, and all at a high level of craftsmanship. He toured the US but, as one writer put it, "his experiences were not exactly positive". During the National Socialist years he advanced to become the "Master of German Operetta".

The trauma of the war years had its effect upon Künneke and with a heart complaint he withdrew into the solitude of his study as an "independent scholar". He died on 27 October 1953. At the funeral ceremony in Berlin he was lauded as the last great figure and noblest musician of Berlin operetta.

Künneke's graceful music is distinguished by its rhythm and striking harmonies. His best-known work is the 1921 operetta Der Vetter aus Dingsda; many of his songs are still familiar today.

In 1926, when his operetta Lady Hamilton was premiered in

.

Künneke's daughter was the actress and singer Evelyn Künneke.

Selected works

Operas

• Robins Ende, 1909
• Coeur As, 1913
• Nadja, 1931
• Die lockende Flamme
• Die grosse Sunderin, 1935
• Walther von der Vogelweide, 1945

Operettas

• Wenn Liebe erwacht, 1920
• Der Vetter aus Dingsda (The Cousin from Nowhere), 1921
• Die Ehe im Kreise, 1921
• Verliebte Leute, 1922
• Lady Hamilton, 1926
• Der Tenor der Herzogin, 1930
• Glückliche Reise [de], 1932,Liselott,1932
• Die lockende Flamme, 1933
• Die große Sünderin, 1935
• Zauberin Lola, 1937
• Hochzeit in Samarkand, 1938
• Traumland, 1941
• Hochzeit mit Erika, 1949

Broadway musicals

• The Love Song, 1925
• Mayflowers, 1925

Orchestral

• Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs), 1907
• Serenade for Orchestra, 1907
• Piano Concerto No. 1 in A flat major, op. 36, 1935; (Recorded on Koch Schwann CD 3-1372-2 (1997) with Tiny Wirtz, piano; Rundfunkorchester Des Sudwestfunks led by
  Włodzimierz Kamirski
  ; and also with Oliver Triendl at the piano and the Munich Rundfunkorchester with Ernst Theis conducting, 2015. CPO label.)
• Tanzerische Suite, a Concerto in five movements for a jazz band and large (symphony) orchestra, 1929 (The composer conducted the
  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
  recording this on 14 Feb 1938. Digitally remastered for the English Dutton CD label in 2008.)

Berlin-Westend

Film

• Love Songs (1930)
• Madame Pompadour (1931)
• The Black Hussar (1932)
• Frederica (1932)
• The Page from the Dalmasse Hotel (1933)
• Homecoming to Happiness (1933)
• What Men Know (1933)
• Bon Voyage (1933)
• There Is Only One Love (1933)
• Three Bluejackets and a Blonde (1933)
• The Flower Girl from the Grand Hotel (1934)
• The Voice of Love (1934)
• The Brenken Case (1934)
• The Cousin from Nowhere (1934)
• The Accusing Song (1936)
• Back in the Country (1936)
• When the Young Wine Blossoms (1943)
• Wedding with Erika (1950)
• The Cousin from Nowhere (1953)

References

A large part of this article is a translation of that on Künneke in the German-language Wikipedia. Additions from the article by Gottfried Franz Kasparek (translated by J. Bradford Robinson) for the CPO label booklet accompanying their recordings of his music. (CPO 555 015-2)

External links

• https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/edward-knneke-5164 (Eduard Künneke at the Internet Broadway Database)
• Free scores by Eduard Künneke at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)