Edmund Meisel
Encyclopedia
Edmund Meisel was an Austria
n-born composer
. He wrote the score to Walter Ruttmann
's Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis (1927), The Battleship Potemkin
(1925), and other films of Sergei Eisenstein
. Meisel was one of the more important and pioneering figures in film music. Much of his work and the evidence of his significance was lost for more than fifty years.
. He began composing incidental music for the stage in the 1920s. Early credits included the scoring of plays by Bertolt Brecht
. His acquaintance with Erwin Piscator
led to him writing music for films soon after. Meisel quickly came to be considered a talented composer, capable of working in a different styles, encompassing expressionism and jazz, as well as traditional orchestral modes. Writing during the turbulent years of the Weimar Republic
, Meisel demonstrated a wry sense of humor, particularly regarding patriotic songs.
In 1925, Meisel came to prominence with a new score for Sergei Eisenstein
's Potemkin, helping to turn the movie into a major hit from the modest success it had had in Russia
. The opportunity arose when the German distributor decided to capitalize on the unexpected success the movie achieved in Berlin by improving the score. Meisel's music established an approach to scoring movies that came to dominate filmmaking, especially in Hollywood. Writing in just 12 days' time, his score more closely paralleled the movie, shot-by-shot and scene-by-scene, in a way that was novel for the time. Meisel's only guidance from Eisenstein was with the final reel, where Meisel was asked to rely on rhythm as the dominant element. Eisenstein was apparently pleased with the Meisel's score, hiring him later for October in 1927.
Meisel wrote full scores for Arnold Fanck
's The Holy Mountain in 1926 and in 1927, was the composer on Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, writing a score to be played by an orchestra of 75 musicians. Meisel was so influential, he was sometimes credited simply with his last name. Meisel also wrote articles on film composition and the performance of his scores, a helpful resource for scholars. Although his name was known, Meisel's score to Potemkin was lost, and wasn't reconstructed until the 1990s, leading to renewed interest in his music.
Meisel died in Berlin
in 1930, at the age of 36.
Meisel's niece was the writer and member of the German Resistance
, Hilde Meisel
.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n-born composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He wrote the score to Walter Ruttmann
Walter Ruttmann
Walter Ruttmann was a German film director and along with Hans Richter and Viking Eggeling was an early German practitioner of experimental film....
's Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis (1927), The Battleship Potemkin
The Battleship Potemkin
The Battleship Potemkin , sometimes rendered as The Battleship Potyomkin, is a 1925 silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and produced by Mosfilm...
(1925), and other films of Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
. Meisel was one of the more important and pioneering figures in film music. Much of his work and the evidence of his significance was lost for more than fifty years.
Biography
Meisel was born in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. He began composing incidental music for the stage in the 1920s. Early credits included the scoring of plays by Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
. His acquaintance with Erwin Piscator
Erwin Piscator
Erwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator was a German theatre director and producer and, with Bertolt Brecht, the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio-political content of drama, rather than its emotional manipulation of the audience or on the production's formal...
led to him writing music for films soon after. Meisel quickly came to be considered a talented composer, capable of working in a different styles, encompassing expressionism and jazz, as well as traditional orchestral modes. Writing during the turbulent years of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
, Meisel demonstrated a wry sense of humor, particularly regarding patriotic songs.
In 1925, Meisel came to prominence with a new score for Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
's Potemkin, helping to turn the movie into a major hit from the modest success it had had in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The opportunity arose when the German distributor decided to capitalize on the unexpected success the movie achieved in Berlin by improving the score. Meisel's music established an approach to scoring movies that came to dominate filmmaking, especially in Hollywood. Writing in just 12 days' time, his score more closely paralleled the movie, shot-by-shot and scene-by-scene, in a way that was novel for the time. Meisel's only guidance from Eisenstein was with the final reel, where Meisel was asked to rely on rhythm as the dominant element. Eisenstein was apparently pleased with the Meisel's score, hiring him later for October in 1927.
Meisel wrote full scores for Arnold Fanck
Arnold Fanck
Arnold Fanck was a pioneer of the German mountain film....
's The Holy Mountain in 1926 and in 1927, was the composer on Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, writing a score to be played by an orchestra of 75 musicians. Meisel was so influential, he was sometimes credited simply with his last name. Meisel also wrote articles on film composition and the performance of his scores, a helpful resource for scholars. Although his name was known, Meisel's score to Potemkin was lost, and wasn't reconstructed until the 1990s, leading to renewed interest in his music.
Meisel died in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1930, at the age of 36.
Meisel's niece was the writer and member of the German Resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
, Hilde Meisel
Hilde Meisel
Hilde Meisel was a German socialist and journalist who published articles against the Nazi regime in Germany. While in exile in England, she wrote under the pseudonym Hilda Monte, calling for German resistance to Nazism in magazines, books and in radio broadcasts...
.