Robert Stolz
Robert Stolz was one of the more successful composers of Viennese operetta and popular song in the early 20th century, ranking somewhere behind Franz Lehár and Oscar Straus. He was also among the relative handful of European composers of operetta to find a home in Hollywood, where he worked during the '40s.
The son of Jacob Stolz, a music teacher, and Ida Bondy, a concert pianist, music came naturally to Stolz as a child -- he made his recital debut at age seven with Johannes Brahms, a family friend, in the audience. Stolz attended the Vienna Conservatory, where he studied under Joseph Fuchs, and later with composer Engelbert Humperdinck in Berlin. He held various low-ranking musical posts in Graz, Marburg, and Salzburg, but at this time, his aspirations were directed toward serious classical music. A meeting with Johann Strauss II in 1899 turned Stolz's attention toward the writing of operetta and songs, and he wrote his first light opera that year, Studentenulke, which was premiered in Marburg.
Beginning in 1907, Stolz was the conductor of the Theatre an der Wien, where he became associated at the podium with several successes by other composers, most notably Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow. His own success was initially confined to songs such as "Servus, Du!" -- one of his later songs, "Hallo du Susse Klingelfee," was sung by Jean Gabin in Paris. Stolz's first major hit in the field of operetta was Der Tanz ins Gluck, which came to the United States as Sky High in the early '20s. His work in the '20s consisted principally of writing and conducting cabaret songs in Berlin, and he also achieved some notable popularity writing movie musicals during the early sound era. Stolz remained in Germany right up until the late '30s, writing operettas and movie scores until 1937, when the country's Nazi politics became untenable. He came to the United States in 1940, and a year later was working in Hollywood, conducting for the screen and also composing the scores for movies such as Spring Parade and It Happened Tomorrow.
He returned to Vienna in 1946, and among his other musical endeavors in the decades that followed, Stolz wrote the music for the ice revues, as well as conducting numerous concerts and making dozens of recordings of both his own and other composers' light operatic material. Among the best of these was his recording of Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus, for Decca/London Records. Stolz also recorded highlights from many of his most beloved works, including Himmelblaue Traum, Fruhjahrsparade, and Venus in Seide. He became a much-loved musical figure in Europe, particularly in the German-speaking world -- he was made an honorary citizen of Vienna, and was honored in 1972 with a statue in Graz, where he was born.
Stolz's music is not quite of the quality of Lehár or Johann Strauss, but his operettas and songs still have a rich melodic allure. They evoke some measure of wistful nostalgia today, but otherwise remain as powerful as they were in the '20s and '30s.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo
Artistes similaires
-
Glanzvolle Operette: Robert Stolz dirigiert Robert Stolz
Robert Stolz, Wiener Symphoniker
Opérette - Paru chez Bellaphon Classic le 6 avr. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lehar: Zigeunerliebe (Highlights)
Classique - Paru chez Eurodisc le 26 juin 1967
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kálmán: Die Csárdasfürstin (excerpts) - "Operetta Highlights"
Classique - Paru chez Eurodisc le 15 nov. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Robert Stolz dirigiert die Wiener Symphoniker
Wiener Symphoniker, Robert Stolz
Opérette - Paru chez World of Classic le 1 janv. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kálmán: Die Zirkusprinzessin (Highlights)
Classique - Paru chez Eurodisc le 26 juin 1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
A Bouquet of Franz Lehár (Recordings of 1957 - 1960)
Rudolf Schock, Robert Stolz, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Classique - Paru chez Festive Music le 14 mai 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ewig junger Robert Stolz
Classique - Paru chez Eurodisc le 25 sept. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
An der schönen blauen Donau
Classique - Paru chez Sony Classical le 19 févr. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stolz: Zwei Herzen im Dreivierteltakt & Wenn die kleinen Veilchen blühen (Highlights)
Classique - Paru chez Eurodisc le 26 juin 1965
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lehár Walzer (Album of 1959)
Wiener Orchester, Robert Stolz
Classique - Paru chez Frau Luna le 12 août 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas International, Vol. 12Vienna 4
Robert Stolz, Wiener Symphoniker
Musique symphonique - Paru chez Membran le 27 juin 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stolz: Frühlingsparade (Highlights)
Classique - Paru chez Eurodisc le 26 juin 1975
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stolz: Himmelblaue Träume (Highlights)
Classique - Paru chez Eurodisc le 26 juin 1965
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stolz: Venus in Seide (Highlights)
Classique - Paru chez Eurodisc le 9 nov. 1965
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lehar: Der Zarewitsch (excerpts) - "Operetta Highlights"
Classique - Paru chez Eurodisc le 26 juin 1967
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Johann Strauß Anniversary CD
Classique - Paru chez Ariola le 9 oct. 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fantaisies sur des œuvres de Tchaikovsky et Offenbach (Mono Version)
Wiener Symphoniker, Robert Stolz
Divers - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Fantaisie sur des airs de Tchaikowsky (Mono Version)
Wiener Symphoniker, Robert Stolz
Divers - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Offenbach Fantasy (Mono Version)
Wiener Symphoniker, Robert Stolz
Divers - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
March of the Cavalry & Rákóczi March (Arr. by Robert Stolz, Mono Version)
Orchestre de l'opéra d'état de Vienne, Robert Stolz
Divers - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo