Herbert Baumann facts for kids

Herbert Baumann (born 31 July 1925 – died 21 January 2020) was a German composer and conductor. A composer writes music, and a conductor leads an orchestra or choir.

He mainly wrote music for plays and movies. He worked at famous theaters in Berlin and Munich. Some of his well-known works include ballet music for Alice im Wunderland and Rumpelstilzchen.

Early Life and Music Journey

Herbert Baumann was born in Berlin, Germany. His father wanted him to study architecture. But Herbert also studied conducting at the same time. His teacher was Sergiu Celibidache, a famous conductor. Celibidache was working with the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra then.

Herbert loved music so much that he decided to focus on it completely. He wrote a piece of music for a conducting exercise. It impressed Celibidache, who showed it to Paul Höffer, a composition professor.

Becoming a Composer

After this, Herbert studied how to compose music with Professor Höffer. He studied at a special music institute in Berlin. When Höffer passed away, Herbert continued his studies with Boris Blacher.

He started working as a leader for stage music at an outdoor theater. When he was only 22, Professor Höffer suggested him for a job. Herbert became the director of stage music at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. He held this important job for six years. During this time, he wrote music for many plays.

Career in Theaters

In 1953, Herbert moved to another theater group in West Berlin. Later, in 1970, he moved to Munich. There, he worked for the Residenz Theatre. From 1979, he worked as a freelance artist. This means he worked for himself and took on different projects.

Famous Ballets

One of his most famous works was the ballet Alice im Wunderland. This ballet was based on the famous book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It was first performed on 23 December 1984. This first show, called a premiere, happened at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden.

The Alice ballet was very successful! Because of this, another theater asked him to write a ballet called Rumpelstilzchen. This ballet premiered in 1986. In the Alice ballet, Lewis Carroll himself was a character. He was called Der Dichter, which means "The Author."

Music critics said his Alice music was "neo-Romantic." They praised its beautiful sounds and how it told the story.

Awards and Legacy

In 1998, Herbert Baumann received a special award. It was the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. This is a very high honor in Germany.

In the same year, he started the Herbert-Baumann-Stiftung. A foundation is an organization that helps a good cause. His foundation supports music played on plucked instruments. These include guitars, harps, and lutes. It does this by organizing concerts, festivals, and competitions.

In 2015, he became an honorary member of a music association in Munich. Herbert Baumann passed away in Munich in January 2020. He was 94 years old.