Theo Mackeben
Theo Mackeben, born 5 January 1897 in Preußisch Stargard, Westpreußen, died 10 January 1953 in Berlin, was a German pianist, conductor, and composer, particularly of film music.
Theo Mackeben
Axel Mauruszat · CC BY 3.0 de
- Born
- 1897.
- Died
- 1953.
- Nationality
- Germany.
- Occupation
- conductor, composer, pianist, film score composer, music arranger and musician.
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Documentary summary
Theo Mackeben, born 5 January 1897 in Preußisch Stargard, Westpreußen, died 10 January 1953 in Berlin, was a German pianist, conductor, and composer, particularly of film music.
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Note VALÉORINE
Theo Mackeben (1897–1953) was a German composer, conductor and film score composer, among other activities. Born in Starogard Gdański, the composer died in West Berlin.
Theo Mackeben worked in Berlin and Warsaw. The composer was active in conducting, film score and music. Languages used include German.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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museum · 9a6c092c-c869-4019-b89f-1d1dbc1ad246 · wikidata · Q71532 · wikipedia · Theo Mackeben
In this article
Life and career
Life and career
From 1916 to 1920 Mackeben studied violin and piano at the Hochschule für Musik Köln, as well as taking lessons from Jules de Westheim. He then became active as a café and radio pianist during the 1920s, at the Café Größenwahn and the Hotel Esplanade in Berlin. In 1928 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm he conducted the first performance of Dreigroschenoper. Mackeben arranged the music from Millöckers operetta Gräfin Dubarry, for a 1931 production entitled Die Dubarry including an original song Ich schenk mein Herz nur dir allein. In the 1930s he composed music for stage plays and over 50 films, including some directed by Max Ophüls, Gustaf Gründgens, and Willy Forst. After the war, he wrote a piano concerto and a Sinfonische Ballade for cello and orchestra, while also being conductor at the Metropol-Theater. After the end of the Second World War, Mackeben was for two seasons the musical director of the Berlin Metropol-Theater.
Operettas
Operettas
1931: Die Dubarry 1932: Die Journalisten 1934: Lady Fanny and The Servant Problem 1934: Liebe auf Reisen 1938: Anita und der Teufel 1943: Der goldene Käfig 1950: Die Versuchung der Antonia
Other music
Other music
Piano Concerto (1945) Sinfonische Ballade for cello and orchestra (1946)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1953
Theo Mackeben died at Berlin.
Recordings
As a conductor, Mackeben's recordings from the late 1920s through the 1930s include extracts from Die Dreigroschenoper (in 1930 in conjunction with the film soundtrack with Lotte Lenya) and Die Dubarry, Scassola's Laendische Suite, Mendelssohn's 'Spring Song', and fantasies from Smetana's Bartered Bride, Zeller's Der Vogelhändler, Verdi's La traviata, Weill's Mahagonny and Suppé's Die schöne Galathée, on labels such as Telefunken and Berlin. A LP selection of Mackeben's music was recorded in 1980 by Das Grosse Orchester Willi Stech on the HGBS label, and in 1995 a CD by the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne conducted by Emmerich Smola was published by Capriccio.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q71532: Theo Mackeben
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Theo Mackeben”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Theo Mackeben
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Lamb A. Theo Mackeben. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Music, 2nd Edition, Volume 15. Macmillan, London and New York, 2001.
- 2.Gänzl K. The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. Blackwell, Oxford, 1994.
- 3.Fred K. Prieberg: Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933–1945. CD-ROM-Lexikon, Kiel 2009, 2. Auflage, S. 4706
- 4.Milnes, Rodney. Opera on the gramophone: 57 - The stage works of Weill. Opera, May 1995, Vol.46 No.5, p.525.
- 5.CHARM http://www.charm.kcl.ac.uk/index.html Accessed 15 May 2011
- 6.Erinnerungen an Theo Mackeben: Walzer der Freude, Träume nur, So oder so ist das Leben, Ich bin auf der Welt, um Glücklich zu sein, Paris, du bist die schönste Stadt der Welt, Bel Ami, Eine Frau wird erst schön durch die Liebe, Komm auf die Schaukel, Luise, Nur nicht aus Liebe weinen, Wer bist du, den ich liebe, Drei Sterne sah ich scheinen
- 7.The Original Motion Picture Scores – Theo Mackeben. WDR CD 10 705. Paris, Du bist die schönste Stadt der Welt, Bei dir war es immer so schön, Amorcito mio, Nur nicht aus Liebe weinen, Bal paré, Münchner G'schichten, Tanz auf dem Vulkan: Ballet Szene, Drei Sterne sah ich scheinen, Foxtrott from Mädchen in Weiß, Ich bin auf der Welt, um Glücklich zu sein, Eine Frau wird erst schon durch die Liebe, Fantasie über drei Lieder from Das Herz der Königin, Mein kleiner Teddybär, Walzer der Freude.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
MusicBrainz artist record for Theo MackebenMetaBrainz Foundation
Verifiedreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q71532: Theo MackebenWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
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