Willy Schmidt-Gentner
Willy Schmidt- Gentner ( born April 6, 1894 in Neustadt am Rennsteig, † February 12, 1964 in Vienna ) was one of the most successful German film composer. In his most productive periods in 1933 meantime, moved to Vienna composer set to music for up to ten films a year - including many classics and masterpieces of German film history.
Life and work
During his childhood, he made some experience in violin and took lessons in composition teaching with Max Reger. After the First World War Schmidt- Gentner worked as a civil servant for monitoring the tax compliance of theater owners. About a client he came here to a position as Kapellmeister at cinema screenings. His interest in the film was increased by the fact, so he wrote his first composition in 1922 to accompany a silent film. His plays, he led some personally at the cinema performances on the piano. Already at that time he was responsible for the setting of several German film classics. Approximately for Alraune (1928 ), The White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929) and Hocus Pocus (1930 )
With the coming of sound film era, he was quickly so that he temporarily set to music a year one of the most sought-after film composers in Germany up to ten films. Here he preferred lightweight comedies and light-hearted, musical romances - now and then but also dramatic substances with a political background, about the Nazi propaganda film Vienna 1910 (1943) or history of espionage film (1955 ) about the imperial spy Colonel Redl.
After the " seizure of power" of the Nazis in May 1933 he was a member of the NSDAP, but was dropped in 1934. In 1933 he moved to Vienna, where he conducted his only two times Director for Mondial movie: The Pompadour (1935 ) and The Way of the Heart (1936). For Sasha movie he composed the music for the highlights of the Viennese film, including Masquerade (1934 ) and High School (1934 ). After the annexation of Austria to Germany he became the " house composers " for which emerged from the Sascha - Film, now National Socialist Wien-Film, for which he both comedies as well as some of the few relevant propaganda films such as Homecoming (1941 ), Vienna 1910 (1942 ) or The heart must be silent (1944 ) set to music. From Vienna's former top directors Willi Forst and Gustav Ucicky, with whom he was already known from earlier works, but he was also repeated for the setting of their upscale productions - such as The postmaster (1940 ), operetta (1940 ), Wiener Blut (1942 ) and Vienna Mädeln (1944/1945) - commissioned.
After the war, Schmidt- Gentner Vienna remained faithful and composed the music continues to be successful for a number of predominantly native and music films until 1955 he retired into private life. Overall, Willy Schmidt- Gentner composed for about 200 films. His final resting place is located on the Hietzing Cemetery in Vienna - Gr.16/Nr.121