delirium clemens

“Georg(e) Kreisler, one of Austria’s most prolific satirists & comedians, has died. Born in Vienna in 1922, his career started in New York, as his family had to flee Austria after the Anschluß. But he took with him his musical training from Vienna and used it as well as pinpoint humour to entertain his fellow American troops during the Second World War. He later returned to Europe, but refused to apply for Austrian citizenship. Having had it stolen from him in 1938, he felt it could be returned to him just as swiftly. Recently he’s been living in Salzburg with his wife and last toured Europe earlier this year. Although he always amused, his stand on Austrian citizenship was indicative of his critical stance. Many of his songs are available on YouTube, but this one brilliantly combines the spirit of Vienna and New York. There are shades of the Tom Lehrer about his work – something which was a constant bone of contention between the two comedians – but there’s certainly enough room for both figures.”

Reblogged from (c) Entartete Musik, 2011

This entry was posted on 24 November 2011 at 08:00 and is filed under Uncategorized with tags Austria, comedian, Georg Kreisler, New York, song, Vienna. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.