Theo Mackeben, born 5 January 1897 in Preußisch Stargard, Westpreußen, died 10 January 1953 in Berlin, was a German pianist, conductor, and composer, particularly of film music.Lamb A. Theo Mackeben. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Music, 2nd Edition, Volume 15. Macmillan, London and New York, 2001.

Life and career From 1916 to 1920 Mackeben studied violin and piano at the Hochschule für Musik Köln, as well as taking lessons from Jules de Westheim. He then became active as a café and radio pianist during the 1920s, at the Café Größenwahn and the Hotel Esplanade in Berlin.

In 1928 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm he conducted the first performance of Dreigroschenoper. Mackeben arranged the music from Millöckers operetta Gräfin Dubarry, for a 1931 production entitled Die Dubarry including an original song Ich schenk mein Herz nur dir allein.Gänzl K. The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. Blackwell, Oxford, 1994.

In the 1930s he composed music for stage plays and over 50 films, including some directed by Max Ophüls, Gustaf Gründgens, and Willy Forst. After the war, he wrote a piano concerto and a Sinfonische Ballade for cello and orchestra, while also being conductor at the Metropol-Theater.

After the end of the Second World War, Mackeben was for two seasons the musical director of the Berlin Metropol-Theater.Fred K. Prieberg: Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933–1945. CD-ROM-Lexikon, Kiel 2009, 2. Auflage, S. 4706

Recordings As a conductor, Mackeben's recordings from the late 1920s through the 1930s include extracts from Die Dreigroschenoper (in 1930 in conjunction with the film soundtrack with Lotte Lenya)Milnes, Rodney. Opera on the gramophone: 57 - The stage works of Weill. Opera, May 1995, Vol.46 No.5, p.525. and Die Dubarry, Scassola's Laendische Suite, Mendelssohn's 'Spring Song', and fantasies from Smetana's Bartered Bride, Zeller's Der Vogelhändler, Verdi's La traviata, Weill's Mahagonny and Suppé's Die schöne Galathée, on labels such as Telefunken and Berlin.CHARM http://www.charm.kcl.ac.uk/index.html Accessed 15 May 2011

A LP selection of Mackeben's music was recorded in 1980 by Das Grosse Orchester Willi Stech on the HGBS label,Erinnerungen an Theo Mackeben: Walzer der Freude, Träume nur, So oder so ist das Leben, Ich bin auf der Welt, um Glücklich zu sein, Paris, du bist die schönste Stadt der Welt, Bel Ami, Eine Frau wird erst schön durch die Liebe, Komm auf die Schaukel, Luise, Nur nicht aus Liebe weinen, Wer bist du, den ich liebe, Drei Sterne sah ich scheinen and in 1995 a CD by the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne conducted by Emmerich Smola was published by Capriccio.The Original Motion Picture Scores – Theo Mackeben. WDR CD 10 705. Paris, Du bist die schönste Stadt der Welt, Bei dir war es immer so schön, Amorcito mio, Nur nicht aus Liebe weinen, Bal paré, Münchner G'schichten, Tanz auf dem Vulkan: Ballet Szene, Drei Sterne sah ich scheinen, Foxtrott from Mädchen in Weiß, Ich bin auf der Welt, um Glücklich zu sein, Eine Frau wird erst schon durch die Liebe, Fantasie über drei Lieder from Das Herz der Königin, Mein kleiner Teddybär, Walzer der Freude.

Works Operettas 1931: Die Dubarry 1932: Die Journalisten 1934: Lady Fanny and The Servant Problem 1934: Liebe auf Reisen 1938: Anita und der Teufel 1943: Der goldene Käfig 1950: Die Versuchung der Antonia

Film scores

Chasing Fortune (1930) I Go Out and You Stay Here (1931) A Tremendously Rich Man (1932) Five from the Jazz Band (1932) How Shall I Tell My Husband? (1932) Thea Roland (1932) Liebelei (1933) Love, Death and the Devil (1934) The Grand Duke's Finances (1934) Make Me Happy (1935) Lessons in Love (1935) The Devil in the Bottle (1935) Pygmalion (1935) Girls in White (1936) Under Blazing Heavens (1936) Intermezzo (1936) Dance on the Volcano (1938) Heimat (1938) The Life and Loves of Tschaikovsky (1939) Bel Ami (1939) The Wedding Trip (1939) Das Herz der Königin (1940) Bal Paré (1940) Ohm Krüger (1941) The Way to Freedom (1941) Wedding in Barenhof (1942) An Old Heart Becomes Young Again (1943) Germanin (1943) Women Are No Angels (1943) The Bath in the Barn (1943) And the Heavens Above Us (1947) Chemistry and Love (1948) The Trip to Marrakesh (1949) Don't Dream, Annette (1949) Who Is This That I Love? (1950) The Sinner (1951) Miracles Still Happen (1951) The Sergeant's Daughter (1952) Captive Soul (1952)

Other music Piano Concerto (1945) Sinfonische Ballade for cello and orchestra (1946)

References

External links

Website (in German) about Mackeben