- Werner Egk
Werner Egk (
May 17 ,1901 –July 10 ,1983 ), originally Werner Mayer, was a Germancomposer .He was born in
Auchsesheim today part ofDonauwörth (Germany ) and died inInning .Egk studied under
Carl Orff inMunich . When radio broadcasting became available to the public, Egk immediately realised its importance as a mass media and developed operas and radio plays.At the beginning of the 1930s, Egk turned his interest towards
ballet andopera . In 1935, he premiered his first opera "Die Zaubergeige" ("The magic violin") inFrankfurt am Main . His opera "Peer Gynt" is based onHenrik Ibsen 's play.During the Nazi regime, he worked in the
Reichsmusikkammer , which was held against him after the war, though generally only briefly, as that work was a necessity for Egk to save and continue his work.His "big" career began after the War. In Germany, Egk has been dubbed "Komponist des Wiederaufbaus" ("composer of reconstruction" [after World War II] ). Besides being a conductor and composer, he was head of the Berlin Musikhochschule (1950-1952) and important figure of the
GEMA since 1950; he was also the first German president of theCISAC .External links
* [http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=EGKWER01 profile]
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