Gottfried Huppertz (11 March 1887 – 7 February 1937) was a German

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

who is perhaps most known for his scores to German

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

silent films such as the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

epic ''

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

'' (1927). He collaborated with director

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary '' Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. ...

on multiple occasions.

Life

Huppertz studied at the Conservatory of Music in Cologne and worked during World War I in

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

, where he debuted in 1910 as a singer and actor. In 1920 he went to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

as an opera singer at the Nollendorfplatz theatre. His first composition, ''"Rankende Rosen"'', was dedicated to the actor

Rudolf Klein-Rogge Friedrich Rudolf Klein (24 November 1885 – 29 May 1955), better known as Rudolf Klein-Rogge, was a German film actor, best known for playing sinister figures in films in the 1920s and 1930s as well as being a mainstay in director Fritz Lang's ...

, who introduced him in the early 1920s to director

and to

Thea von Harbou Thea Gabriele von Harbou (27 December 1888 – 1 July 1954) was a German screenwriter, novelist, film director, and actress. She is remembered as the screenwriter of the science fiction film classic '' Metropolis'' (1927) and for the 1 ...

(who later married Lang, but was at the time still married to Klein-Rogge). In the film, '' Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler'' (1922), Huppertz worked as an extra in the role of a hotel manager. Huppertz composed his first film score for Lang's film '' Die Nibelungen'' (1924). While working on his 1925 score for the film ''

Chronicles of the Gray House ''Chronicles of the Gray House'' () is a 1925 German silent historical drama film directed by Arthur von Gerlach and starring Paul Hartmann, Rudolf Forster and Lil Dagover. It is also known as ''At the Grey House''. The narrative is set in th ...

'', Huppertz began working on the score of another film for Lang, ''

'' (1927). This became his best-known film score. Besides scoring, Huppertz also wrote songs. Only some of his music has been recorded. The theme music for the first of the Karl May talkies, ''

Across the Desert ''Across the Desert'' (german: Durch die Wüste) is a 1936 German adventure film directed by Johann Alexander Hübler-Kahla and starring Fred Raupach, Heinz Evelt and Aruth Wartan. It was based on a novel by Karl May. It was the first sound adap ...

'' (1936), is included in the Karl May Film Music Collection Box ''Wild West, Hot Orient''.

Filmography

* '' Four Around a Woman'' (1921) * '' Die Nibelungen: Siegfried'' (1924) * '' Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache'' (1924) * ''

'' (1925) * ''

'' (1927) * '' The Judas of Tyrol'' (1933) * ''

Elisabeth and the Fool ''Elisabeth and the Fool'' (German: ''Elisabeth und der Narr'') is a 1934 German drama film directed by Thea von Harbou and starring Hertha Thiele, Theodor Loos and Rudolf Klein-Rogge. Dixon & Foster p.154 The film was the directing debut of ...

'' (1934) * ''

Hanneles Himmelfahrt ''The Ascension of Little Hannele'' (german: Hanneles Himmelfahrt), also known simply as ''Hannele'', is an 1893 play by the German playwright Gerhart Hauptmann.Hartnoll (1983, 377). In contrast to Hauptmann's naturalistic dramas, ''The Assumpti ...

'' (1934) *''

The Green Domino ''The Green Domino'' (french: Le Domino vert) is a 1935 French/German drama film directed by Henri Decoin and Herbert Selpin, based on play by Erich Ebermayer. It tells the story of a rich heiress who falls in love with an art critic after his wi ...

'' (1935) * ''

'' (1936)

Phonograms

* 1924 - Shellac record of the opera "Love People," Huppertz vocalist on page 1 and 2, VOX Record No. 04023 * 1927 - "To the film Metropolis," on page 2 - sections of the Huppertz score, VOX records, No. 08386 and 08387 * 2011 - CD "Metropolis," Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Germany radio culture, digital Capriccio C5066 * 2015 - 4 CD-set of 'Die Nibelungen' (including 'Siegfried' and 'Kriemhilds Rache), HR-Sinfonieorchester, Frank Strobel, PAN Classics 10345 * 2016 - 2 CD-set of 'Zur Chronik von Grieshuus', Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Frank Strobel, PAN Classics 10355

Papers

Letters of Gottfried Huppertz are held by the Leipzig music publisher CF Peters in the Leipzig State Archives.

References

External links

* Video - Music from

Metropolis (1927 film) ''Metropolis'' is a 1927 German expressionist science-fiction drama film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Harbou in collaboration with Lang from von Harbou's 1925 novel of the same name. Intentionally written as a treatment, it ...

- & . {{DEFAULTSORT:Huppertz, Gottfried 1887 births 1937 deaths 20th-century German composers 20th-century German male musicians German film score composers German male composers Male film score composers