Oskar Sala (18 July 1910 – 26 February 2002) was a German composer and a pioneer of electronic music. He played an instrument called the

Trautonium The Trautonium is an electronic synthesizer invented in 1930 by Friedrich Trautwein in Berlin at the Musikhochschule's music and radio lab, the Rundfunkversuchstelle. Soon afterwards Oskar Sala joined him, continuing development until Sala's de ...

, an early form of electronic

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

Early life

Sala was born in

Greiz Greiz () is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of state capital Jena, on the river ''White Elster''. Greiz has a large park in its center (Fürstl ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He studied piano and organ during his youth, performing classical piano concerts as a teenager. In 1929, he moved 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 constitue ...

to study piano and composition with composer and violist

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Ne ...

at the Berlin Conservatory. He also followed the experiments of Dr. Friedrich Trautwein, at the school's laboratory, learning to play with Trautwein's pioneer electronic instrument, the

. On 20 June 1930 Sala and Paul Hindemith gave a public performance at the Berliner Musikhochschule Hall called “Neue Musik Berlin 1930″ to introduce the Trautonium. Later Sala toured Germany with the Trautonium; in 1931 he was the soloist in a performance of Hindemith's Concert for Trautonium with String Quartet. He also soloed in the debut of Hindemith student

Harald Genzmer Harald or Haraldr is the Old Norse form of the given name Harold. It may refer to: Medieval Kings of Denmark * Harald Bluetooth (935–985/986) Kings of Norway * Harald Fairhair (c. 850–c. 933) * Harald Greycloak (died 970) * Harald Hardrada ...

's “Concert for Trautonium AND Orchestra”. Sala studied physics at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

between 1932 and 1935. He helped to develop the "Volkstrautonium", a Trautonium that

Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television apparatus company, founded in Berlin in 1903, as a joint venture of Siemens & Halske and the ''Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ('General electricity company'). The name "Telefunken" app ...

hoped to popularize. In 1935 he built a "Radio-Trautonium", and in 1938 a portable model, the "Konzerttrautonium". Oskar Sala was a soldier during the

Nazi era Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. He was on the Eastern Front during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, where he was injured.

Mixtur-Trautonium

In 1948, Sala further developed the Trautonium into the Mixtur-Trautonium. Sala's invention opened the field of subharmonics, the symmetric counterpart to

overtone An overtone is any resonant frequency above the fundamental frequency of a sound. (An overtone may or may not be a harmonic) In other words, overtones are all pitches higher than the lowest pitch within an individual sound; the fundamental i ...

s, so that a thoroughly distinct tuning evolved.
A detailed technical insight into the Trautonium. Pioneering music therapist

Maria Schüppel Maria Schüppel (1923 – 27 June 2011) was a German composer, educator, pianist and pioneering music therapist who composed works for lyre and voice, and experimented with electronic music. Schüppel was born in Chemnitz. After her father’s ...

studied and worked with Sala during the 1950s. Sala presented his new instrument to the public in 1952 and would soon receive international licenses for its circuits. That same year, Harald Genzmer delivered the score to the first ''Concert For Mixtur-Trautonium And Grand Orchestra.'' In the 1950s Sala also built the ''Quartett-Trautonium''.

Film work

In the 1940s and 1950s, he worked on many film scores. In 1958, he established his own studio at Mars film GmbH (4th incarnation) in Berlin. It was there that he produced electronic soundtracks for such films as

Veit Harlan Veit Harlan (22 September 1899 – 13 April 1964) was a German film director and actor. Harlan reached the highpoint of his career as a director in the Nazi era; most notably his antisemitic film ''Jud Süß'' (1940) makes him controversial ...

's ''

Different from You and Me ''Different from You and Me (§175)'' (german: Anders als du und ich (§175)) is a 1957 feature film on the subject of homosexuality directed by Veit Harlan. The film was subject to censorship in Germany, and several scenes had to be altered bef ...

'' (1957),

Rolf Thiele Rolf Thiele (7 March 1918 – 9 October 1994) was a German film director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. He directed 42 films between 1951 and 1977. He was born in Ústí nad Labem, Prödlitz, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ...

's ''

Rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native plant, native to the Mediterranean Region, Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was kn ...

'' (1959), and

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. 6 ...

's '' Das Indische Grabmal'' (1959). He created the non-musical soundtrack for

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's film '' The Birds''. He received many awards for his film scores, but he never won an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

. He also did much work on German commercials, most notably one referred to as '' HB's little man''. He was an honorary Senator of Berlin.

Legacy

On 18 July 2022,

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

celebrated his 112th birthday with a

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

Discography

*''Trautonium-Konzerte'' :(Wergo WER 286 266–2) :

's ''Konzert für Trautonium und Orchester'' (''Concerto for Trautonium and Orchestra'') (1938/39) and ''Konzert für Mixtur-Trautonium und großes Orchester'' (''Concerto for Mixtur-Trautonium and Large Orchestra'') (1952) *''My Fascinating Instrument'' :(Erdenklang 90340) :Contains his own compositions, dating from 1955 to 1989 *''Subharmonische Mixturen'' :(Erdenklang 70962) :Contains

's ''Langsames Stueck für Orchester und Rondo für Trautonium'' (''Slow Piece for Orchestra And Rondo for Trautonium''), Sala's own compositions, dating from 1992 to 1995, and his soundtrack to ''Der Wuerger von Schloss Dartmore'' (''The Strangler of Castle Dartmore'') *''Elektronische Impressionen'' :(Telefunken 6.40023 AP) :Hindemith's ''7 Triostuecke für drei Trautonien'' (''7 Triopieces for three Trautonien''), ''Konzertstueck fuer Trautonium und Streicher'' (''Concertpiece for Trautonium And Strings'') written in 1931 and recorded in 1977. Also contains Sala's ''Elektronische Impressionen'' (''Electronic Impressions''), 1978. *''Resonanzen'' :(1970, re-release 1994, Originalton West OW027) :Contains ''Suite für Mixtur-Trautonium und elektronisches Schlagwerk'' and ''Resonanzen'': Konzertante Musik für Mixtur-Trautonium und Elektronisches Orchester.

Literature

* Peter Donhauser (2007). ''Elektrische Klangmaschinen''. Boehlau Vienna (in German). * Peter Badge (2000). ''Oskar Sala:Pionier der elektronischen Musik''. Satzwerk, 100pp. * Pablo Freire / Audionautas (2011/2012). ''Oskar Sala. El último artesano''. Part
1
http://www.audionautas.com/2011/11/oskar-sala-el-ultimo-artesano-ii.html
3
http://www.audionautas.com/2012/04/oskar-sala-el-ultimo-artesano-iv.html 4] (in Spanish)

References

External links

* *
The Legacy of Oskar Sala
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sala, Oskar German electronic musicians 1910 births 2002 deaths Pupils of Paul Hindemith 20th-century German composers Trautonium players 20th-century German male musicians German military personnel of World War II