Download Norbert Schultze

Norbert Schultze
- Biography -
Norbert Schultze was born on 26 January 1911 in Braunschweig as the son of the director of the
Institute for Pathology of the Federal State Hospital and a professor's daughter from Cologne,
attended school in Braunschweig and received violin and piano instruction there.
After completing A-levels, he left Braunschweig in order to study music in Cologne and, later on,
dramatics in Munich. He soon joined the student cabaret "Die vier Nachrichter" (The Four News
Reporters) led by Helmut Käutner; Norbert Schultze toured the country with this group for one
year.
He then worked as a rehearsal pianist and theatre conductor in Heidelberg, Darmstadt and Munich
before accepting an offer from a Berlin recording company in 1935 to act as a recording manager.
It was during this time that the idea of Norbert Schultze's first opera "Schwarzer Peter" was born; it
was a resounding success on the stage of the Hamburg State Opera in 1936. This opera made
Norbert Schultze world-famous almost overnight. In the meantime, over one hundred theatres have
staged it and, beyond Germany, opera houses in Vienna, Antwerp and Rome. One year after
"Schwarzer Peter," Norbert Schultze produced the dancing spectacle "Der Struwwelpeter;" in 1938
he set Wilhelm Busch's "Max und Moritz."
Already during the First World War, Hans Leip had written the "Lied eines jungen Wachtpostens"
(Song of a Young Guard) for his poetry collection "Die kleine Hafenorgel" (The Little Port Organ) as a
farewell to a girl. Norbert Schultze set it to music as "Lili Marleen," with Lale Andersen singing it for
the first time in 1938 over the Cologne Reich Station. From the soldiers' stations it went directly
into the soldiers' hearts, becoming so popular during the Second World War that when "Lili
Marleen" was played, a silent cease-fire was said to have been maintained on many fronts for a few
minutes.
During the ensuing years, Norbert Schultze was primarily active as a film composer. To him,
however, his most important work was the romantic opera "Das kalte Herz" (The Cold Heart) based
on a fairytale by Wilhelm Hauff and premiered in Leipzig in 1943. Just as the song "Ach, ich hab in
meinem Herzen" (Ah, I Have in My Heart) was a hit from "Schwarzer Peter" and was recorded
countless times, the "Morgenlied" (Morning Song) from "The Cold Heart" enjoyed great success.
Norbert Schultze's musical "Käpt‘n Bay-Bay" (Captain Bye-Bye) was premiered in 1950; a film was
made of it shortly thereafter with his old friend from cabaret days, Helmut Käutner, with Hans
Albers in the leading role. Starting life in Hamburg, it was performed in many theatres.
The popular music numbers from this musical took on independent lives of their own and became
successful titles: "Kleine weiße Möwe" (Little White Seagull), "In meinem Schaukelstuhl" (In My
Rocking Chair), "Großer Bär und kleiner Bär" (Big Bear and Little Bear), "Madame Goulou," "0
Signorina-rina-rina," but above all "Nimm uns mit, Kapitän, auf die Reise" (Take Us Along on the
Journey, Captain) and of course "Käptn Bay-Bay aus Schanghai" (Captain Bye-Bye from Shanghai).
There followed several operettas, a television opera "Peter der Dritte" (Peter the Third) and
numerous film compositions. Norbert Schultze's opera "Schwarzer Peter" enjoyed a thoroughly
effective new production in November 1996 at the Berlin Metropoltheater.
Honours and awards flowed in, deservedly. Norbert Schultze became the President of the
"Dramatists' Union," assumed a leading function in the GEMA (German Society for Performing
Rights and Mechanical Reproduction Rights) for the benefit of composers and awarded the Paul
Lincke Ring in 1973. Norbert Schultze was always committed to his works, adding new ones, writing
arrangements for others, conducting them in broadcasts and producing recordings.
Norbert Schultze died on 14 October 2002 in Bad Tölz.