Various Die Nacht ist nicht allein zum Schlafen da (CD)

The most beautiful hits and film tunes by Theo Mackeben 1929-1945 episode 2

Theo Mackeben was born on 5 January 1897 in Prussian Stargard (Pomerania). He is the youngest of three sons of a garrison administrative controller and probably the most musical of the three children. At the age of five, he received music lessons, and at the age of 13 his biography recorded his first public appearance as a pianist in Koblenz.

In the middle of the First World War, he began his studies in Cologne, but he can not finish, because the summoning order is not long in coming. An exemption from military service finally allows him to resume his studies at the Warsaw Conservatory. He becomes a pupil of the Hungarian piano virtuoso Josef Weiß. This is followed by a world tour as a companion of the violin virtuoso Leopold Przemislaw and a job as Kapellmeister at the 'Berliner Lustspielhaus''.

His artistic breakthrough took place in 1928. On 31 August, the premiere of the 'Threepenny Opera' will take place at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin. Theo Mackeben is the musical director of the premiere and the congenial interpreter of Weill's music. A year later, also under his direction, "Happy End" was premiered. The encounter with Kurt Weill's music represents the decisive artistic switch for Mackeben

- Jens-Uwe Völmecke