Paul Dessau facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Paul Dessau
Kurt Hager, Ruth Berghaus, Werner Rackwitz, Paul Dessau and Hans-Joachim Hoffmann [de] in 1974
Born	(1894-12-19)19 December 1894 Hamburg, German Empire
Died	28 June 1979(1979-06-28) (aged 84) Königs Wusterhausen, GDR
Nationality	German
Education	Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory
Occupation	Composer Conductor
Spouse(s)	Ruth Berghaus
Children	Maxim Dessau

Paul Dessau (born December 19, 1894 – died June 28, 1979) was a famous German composer and conductor. He worked closely with the well-known writer Bertolt Brecht. Dessau created music for Brecht's plays and also turned some of them into operas.

Paul Dessau's Life Story

Paul Dessau was born in Hamburg, Germany. He came from a family that loved music. His grandfather, Moses Berend Dessau, was a cantor (a singer who leads prayers) in the Hamburg synagogue.

Early Musical Training

From 1909, Paul Dessau focused on playing the violin. He studied with Florian Zajic at the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory in Berlin. In 1912, he started working at the Stadttheater Hamburg. There, he was a répétiteur, which means he helped singers and musicians practice.

He learned a lot by watching famous conductors like Felix Weingartner. He also took classes to learn how to compose music. In 1914, he became a Kapellmeister (a music director) at a theater in Bremen. Soon after, in 1915, he joined the military for World War I.

After the War: A Conductor's Career

After World War I, Dessau became a conductor in Hamburg. From 1919 to 1923, he worked at the Cologne Opera. He was a répétiteur first, then became a Kapellmeister there. In 1923, he moved to the Staatstheater Mainz as a Kapellmeister. Later, in 1925, he became the main Kapellmeister at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Life in Exile and Return to Germany

In 1933, Dessau left Germany and moved to France. He then moved to the United States in 1939. He lived in New York for a while. In 1943, he moved to Hollywood, where many artists lived.

In 1948, Dessau returned to Germany. He settled in East Berlin with his second wife, Elisabeth Hauptmann.

Teaching and Influence

Starting in 1952, Paul Dessau taught music at the State drama school in Berlin. He became a professor there in 1959. He also became a member of the GDR Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts) in 1952. He was even the vice-president of this academy for several years.

He taught many students who became important composers themselves. Some of his students include Friedrich Goldmann and Friedrich Schenker.

Family Life

Paul Dessau was married four times. His last wife was the famous choreographer and director Ruth Berghaus. They had a son named Maxim Dessau, who grew up to become a film director.

Paul Dessau passed away on June 28, 1979. He was 84 years old. He died in Königs Wusterhausen, near Berlin.

Paul Dessau's grave in Berlin.

Paul Dessau's Musical Works

Paul Dessau wrote many different types of music. He composed operas, music for plays (called incidental music), ballets, and symphonies. He also wrote pieces for solo instruments and songs for singers.

Music for Films

From the 1920s, Dessau was very interested in film music. He wrote music for some of the early movies by Walt Disney. He also created background music for silent films and early German movies. While he was living in Paris, he wrote a large musical piece called an oratorio. It was named Hagadah shel Pessach.

Collaborations with Bertolt Brecht

In the 1950s, Dessau worked a lot with Bertolt Brecht. They focused on musical theater. During this time, Dessau's operas became very popular. He also wrote Gebrauchsmusik (which means "utility music"). This was music created for specific purposes, like for the government of East Germany.

At the same time, he supported new and experimental music. He admired composers like Witold Lutosławski and Luigi Nono. Many of his compositions are kept in the archives of the Akademie der Künste.

Operas by Paul Dessau

All of Dessau's operas were first performed at the Staatsoper Berlin.

• Die Reisen des Glücksgotts (a part of an opera), 1945
• Die Verurteilung des Lukullus, 1949–1951, first shown on March 17, 1951
• Puntila, 1956–1959, first shown on November 15, 1966
• Die heilige Johanna der Schlachthöfe (a part of an opera), 1961
• Lanzelot, 1967–69, first shown on December 19, 1969
• Einstein (opera), 1969–1973, first shown on February 16, 1974
• Leonce und Lena (opera), 1976–1979, first shown on November 24, 1979

Incidental Music for Plays

Paul Dessau wrote music to be performed during plays. Here are some examples:

• 99%- eine deutsche Heerschau" (Fear and Misery of the Third Reich) 1938
• Guernica 1938
• Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder: Chronik aus dem Dreißigjährigen Krieg 1946–1949
• Der gute Mensch von Sezuan 1947–1948
• The Exception and the Rule 1948
• Mr Puntila and his Man Matti, a folk play, 1949
• Wie dem deutschen Michel geholfen wird. Clownspiel (clown play) 1949
• The Tutor 1950
• Herrnburger Bericht for youth choir, soloists and orchestra 1951
• Man Equals Man 1951–1956
• Urfaust 1952–1953
• Don Juan 1953
• The Caucasian Chalk Circle 1953–1954
• Coriolan 1964

Film Music Compositions

Dessau composed music for these films:

• Alice the Fire Fighter (1928), Alice's Monkey Business (1928), Alice in the Wooly West (1928) and Alice Helps the Romance (1929) by Walt Disney
• L'Horloge Magique. 2. La Forêt enchanté (1928) and L'Horloge Magique. 1. L'Horloge Magique (1928) by Ladislas Starewitch
• Doktor Doolittle und seine Tiere (1928) by Lotte Reiniger
• Musical director for films with Richard Tauber, including The Land of Smiles and Melody of Love.
• 400 cm^3 documentary
• Storm over Mont Blanc, The White Ecstasy and S.O.S. Eisberg by Arnold Fanck
• White Cargo (1937), Yoshiwara (1937), The Novel of Werther (1938)
• Crossroads (1938)
• Gibraltar (1938)
• The White Slave (1939)

Works for Choir

Dessau wrote many pieces for choirs, sometimes with solo singers and orchestras:

• Deutsches Miserere for mixed choir, children's choir, soloists, orchestra, organ and trautonium 1943–1944
• Internationale Kriegsfibel for soloists, mixed choir and instruments 1944–45
• Die Erziehung der Hirse, a musical story for a narrator, solo voice, mixed choir, youth choir and orchestra 1952–1954
• Vier Grabschriften. (Four Epitaphs)
  • Grabschrift für Gorki for male voices and brass (1947)
  • Grabschrift für Rosa Luxemburg for mixed choir and orchestra
  • Grabschrift für Liebknecht
  • Grabschrift für Lenin
• 5 Songs for three female voices a cappella (without instruments):
  • "Die Thälmannkolonne"
  • "Mein Bruder war ein Flieger"
  • "Vom Kind, das sich nicht waschen wollte"
  • "Sieben Rosen hat der Strauch"
  • "Lied von der Bleibe"
• "Appell der Arbeiterklasse" for alto and tenor solo, narrator, children's and mixed choir and large orchestra, 1960–1961

Songs by Paul Dessau

Here are some of the songs Paul Dessau composed:

• "Kampflied der schwarzen Strohhüte" 1936
• "Freiheit" (also known as "Thälmann-Kolonne") 1936
• "Lied einer deutschen Mutter" 1943
• "Das deutsche Miserere" 1943
• "Horst-Dussel-Lied" 1943
• "Wiegenlied für Gesang und Gitarre" 1947
• "Aufbaulied der FDJ" 1948
• "Zukunftslied" 1949
• "Friedenslied" for one solo voice with one accompanying voice (text: Bertolt Brecht after Pablo Neruda) 1951
• "Der Augsburger Kreidekreis" A dramatic ballad for music 1952
• "Jakobs Söhne ziehen aus, im Ägyptenland Lebensmittel zu holen" for children's choir, soloists and instruments 1953
• "Der anachronistische Zug" ballad for song, piano and percussion 1956
• "Kleines Lied" for song and piano 1965
• "Historie vom verliebten Schwein Malchus" for solo voice 1973
• "Spruch für Gesang und Klavier" 1973
• "Bei den Hochgestellten" 1975

Other Musical Compositions

Dessau also wrote other types of music:

• In memoriam Bertolt Brecht for large orchestra 1956–1957
• Bach-Variationen for large orchestra 1963
• Symphonic Mozart-Adaptation (based on Mozart's Quintet, K.614) 1965
• Lenin, music for orchestra no. 3 with a final chorus "Grabschrift für Lenin" 1969
• Für Helli, a small piece for piano 1971
• Bagatelles for viola and piano (1975)
• Sonatine for viola and piano (1929)
• 2 symphonies
• 7 string quartets and other chamber music pieces

Awards and Honors

Paul Dessau received many awards for his musical contributions:

• Award from the music publisher Schott 1924
• National Prize III. Category 1953
• National Prize II. Category 1956
• National Prize I. Category 1965
• Vaterländischer Verdienstorden (Decoration of Honour for Services to the GDR) in Gold 1965
• Karl-Marx-Orden (Karl-Marx–Decoration) 1969
• National Prize I. Category 1974

See also

In Spanish: Paul Dessau para niños