Lothar e Seu Violino - Boite Internacional (1959)

Chantecler CMG 2018

Violin player Lothar Gebhardt for the first time in this parallel realitiy with his first career album out of two (?), the other one also called Boite International (second part)

As I expected judging by his name, Lothar was really born in Germany and studied at the Cologne Music Academy...
This is how his story starts, while how it continues you may find out reading the long and informative linear notes written by Fred Jorge, who can tell you more facts about Lothar than I can, as I have just encountered him and his music for the first time.

The visitors of international clubs back in 1959, were dancing to:


01. Piove (Domenico Modugno / Verde)
02. Coimbra (Raul Ferrão / José Galhardo)
03. Orchids In The Moonlight (Vincent Youmans / Gus Kahn / Edward Eliscu)
04. Sueño Azul (J. L. Navarro Sanz / P. G. Lafuente)
05. Amado Mio (Allan Roberts / Doris Fisher)
06. La Paloma (Sebastian Yradier)
07. Sleepy Lagoon (J. Lawrence / E. Coates)
08. Estrellita (Manuel Ponce)
09. Am Schwarzen Meer (No Mar Negro) (Léo Rodi)
10. Violino Tzigano (Cesare Andrea Bixio / Bruno Cherubini)
11. Te Quiero Dijiste (María Grever)
12. Loucura (Sidney Morais / Heitor Carillo)

LOTHAR AUS KÖLN

Créditos: Pedro & 300discos

REMEMBERING LOTHAR by Dafydd Gibbon:

A former member of the pre-war Dresden String Quartet, and professor of violin and the University of Bahia, Brasil, Lothar Gebhardt played solo violin at the inauguration of Brasilia in 1960. And in the 1980s he was my revered violin teacher, in Steinhagen, near Bielefeld, Germany, I learned so much from him about the violin, violinists, music and life. It is a joy to listen again to his brilliant technique, his rich, warm tone, and the glissando and vibrato of the early 20th century coffee house style of which he was a master.

I studied violin with Lothar Gebhardt for 3 years around 1983-1986. He helped me select my very nice Bohemian made violin. His own 'violin hero' was Fritz Kreisler and his playing style clearly reflects this influence very strongly. In fact he mentioned to me once that there had been several occasions when people thought Kreisler was playing. As Fred Jorge points out, his playing ability was stupendous - my own experience was of a combination of perfect technique with warm romanticism and powerful emotions - and a great sense of humour.
I knew that Lothar Gebhardt was second violin in a Dresden string quartet, but didn't know it was the Fritsche Quartet. What he told me about his move to Brazil was that the quartet had been on tour in Brazil when WWII broke out and, being Germans, they were unable to return to Germany from Brazil. I don't know anything about his stay in Sao Paulo, as mentioned by Fred Jorge, but he told me himself that he became professor for violin in Bahia. His association with the Escóla de Musica da UFBA (Universidade Federal da Bahia) is confirmed on this page.
He stayed in Brazil and became very popular. He showed me several LPs on which he figured as "Lotario", playing the electric viola. Unfortunately I do not have copies of these discs. He told me that he returned to Steinhagen, Germany, because his wife was seriously ill, in the 1970s, I believe. He had been offered a position by Yehudi Menuhin at Menuhin's famous school, but turned it down because of his wife's illness. Tragically, his last years were shadowed by memory loss, and he passed away a few years ago.