Karl Heinz Schäfer (17 March 1932 – 12 October 1996) was a German-born composer and

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...

who worked mainly in France.

Life and career

Born in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

to Jewish parents, he moved with his mother 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

to the United States, where he learned piano and flute. He returned to Europe to study philosophy and linguistics at

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

, and settled in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, France, in the early 1950s. He was a student of

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonical ...

at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, and in the evenings played piano in nightclubs, where he worked for a while as an accompanist to

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre o ...

. Bob Stanley, Liner notes for ''Paris in the Spring'', Ace Records CDCHD 1525, 2018, p.5 He then spent time touring American military bases, and developed a taste for

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

and

Indian music Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk ( Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed ov ...

. "Karl Heinz Schäfer (1932-1996)", ''Musique Classique''
Retrieved 10 December 2019Karl-Heinz Schäfer, ''MusiqXXL'', September 2007
Retrieved 10 December 2019 From the 1960s, he worked as an arranger in the French recording industry, for singers including Adamo and

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

, and the band

Rockets A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entire ...

, and started working with Michel Magne on

film soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

s. He worked on many soundtracks in the 1970s, notably including László Szabó's obscure 1973 film ''Les Gants Blancs du Diable'', which has been reissued and excerpts from which have been included in later compilations of French music. "Karl Heinz Schäfer: Les Gants Blancs du Diable", ''Clone.nl''
Retrieved 10 December 2019 Other soundtracks to which he contributed included ''

Tender Dracula ''Tender Dracula, or Confessions of a Blood Drinker'' (french: Tendre Dracula) is a 1974 French horror-comedy film directed by Pierre Grunstein. The film stars Peter Cushing, Alida Valli, Bernard Ménez and Miou-Miou. The film involves two scrip ...

'' (1974), ''Zig Zig'' (1975), ''L’Empreinte des Géants'' (1980), ''Extérieur, Nuit'' (1980), ''Polar'' (1984), and ''

Street of No Return ''Street of No Return'' is a 1989 crime film directed by Samuel Fuller and starring Keith Carradine and Valentina Vargas. It is based on the 1954 novel with the same title written by David Goodis. Cast *Keith Carradine as Michael *Valentina Varga ...

'' (1989). After 1980, he worked closely with filmmaker Patrick Schulmann and musician Jean-Louis Bucchi. Schäfer died in 1996, aged 62.

References

External links

Karl Heinz Schäfer
at Data.bnf.fr * * 1932 births 1996 deaths {{France-composer-stub