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.
