Georg Kreisler - Biography

Georg Kreisler (18 July 1922 – 22 November 2011) was an Austrian-American Viennese-language cabarettist, satirist, composer, and author. He was particularly popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Since 2007 he has lived in Salzburg with his third wife, Barbara Peters. He died 22 November 2011 in Salzburg, Austria "after a severe infection" according to his wife Barbara.

Life

Kreisler went to high school in Vienna, where he learned music theory, and learned to play violin and piano. In 1938, he was forced to flee with his parents due to increasing Nazi restrictions on Jews. In 1943, he became an American citizen and enlisted in the Army, and was stationed in Europe. He wrote songs for soldiers in Britain and France with the help of Marcel Prawy. After the war, he went to Hollywood and worked on movies with Charlie Chaplin. He performed at nightclubs and bars to make ends meet. In 1947, he was rejected by the record companies because his songs were "Un-American", especially songs with titles such as "Please Shoot Your Husband". In 1955, he returned to Europe, starting in Vienna, then Munich in 1958, Berlin in 1976, Salzburg in 1988, Basel in 1992, and back to Salzburg in 2007. Since 2001, Kreisler had dedicated himself to writing novels and operas and but no longer performed.

Style

Kreisler's songs are characterized by black humor and uncompromising criticism of society and politics. This caused him many difficulties and also contributed to appearance prohibitions in radio and television.

Kreisler may sometimes have used ideas and material from other artists in his work. Kreisler's "Die Hand" has strong similarities to Tom Lehrer's "I Hold Your Hand in Mine", first recorded in 1953 Songs by Tom Lehrer. This recording predates any documented recording or performance of "Die Hand" by Kreisler by several years, as well as Kreisler's return to performance in German-speaking countries in 1955. Kreisler's "Taubenvergiften im Park" has strong similarities to Lehrer's "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park". But until today, noone really knows if Lehrer or Kreisler wrote "his" song first. Both deny copying from each other. Kreisler's "Das Mädchen mit den drei blauen Augen" appears to be related to the Abe Burrows song "The Girl with the Three Blue Eyes" (first recording in 1950).

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