Paul Lincke
German composer and conductor Paul Lincke was born in Berlin on 7 November 1866, and as he grew up he was initially attracted to military music, being trained in the Wittenberg City Band by Rudolf Kleinow, and learning bassoon as a first instrument, but also tenor horn, drums, piano and violin.
His first work was as a bassoonist at Berlin's Central Theatre and then at Ostend Theatre. He began, working at various theatres, to provide his own music for popular singers. After two years working in Paris at the Folies Bergère, he returned to Berlin and had a huge success with Frau Luna in 1899, followed by other works.
In 1908 he became the Berlin Metropol-Theater's principal conductor and composer. This theatre's revues were Berlin's biggest attraction.
He was feted by the Nazi regime in Germany, but struggled to obtain approval from the Allies after the end of the war, and he died in Hahnenklee on 3 September 1946, aged seventy-nine.
A selection of articles about Paul Lincke
CD Spotlight. Consistently Vibrant - Gerald Fenech listens to orchestral music by German composer Paul Lincke. '... full of striking melodies, rapturous harmonic beauty and often exuberantly dance-like gestures ...'
Profile. Love Comes Stealing In - George Colerick remembers Wolfgang Ostberg (1939-2011)