Just read that Martin Boettcher died on 19th April aged 91 and didn't see anything on this board.
I absolutely loved the music that he composed for the many Karl May films, in particular of course for the Winnetou films. Karl May/Winnetou means nothing to almost anybody here in Britain and the only British person who seems to know about Karl May and the music is Sir Prof Chistopher Frayling.
If you haven't heard the music to Winnetou I would strongly recommend that you give it a listen. Spotify is a good starting point.
Just read that Martin Boettcher died on 19th April aged 91 and didn't see anything on this board.
I absolutely loved the music that he composed for the many Karl May films, in particular of course for the Winnetou films. Karl May/Winnetou means nothing to almost anybody here in Britain and the only British person who seems to know about Karl May and the music is Sir Prof Chistopher Frayling.
If you haven't heard the music to Winnetou I would strongly recommend that you give it a listen. Spotify is a good starting point.
R.I.P. Martin.
I agree also his krimi,edgar Wallace and father brown music
Most of the folks think of STEINER...WAXMANN..KORNGOLD..and not Martin Boettcher or Rolf Wilhelm, when talking about german filmcomposers.Anyone who doesnt own the fantastic Winnetou Box Set or THE NIBELUNGEN misses out on two masterful score experiences.täThe first mentioned by Boettcher being a mix between Barry and Schifrin...so get it!
Anybody who grew up in Germany during the 60s to 80s grew up with the Karl May films and their music. Martin Böttcher's themes are as well known here as the themes for Star Wars or Chariots of Fire. The Old Shatterhand Theme from the first film Der Schatz im Silbersee was a huge seller spending 17 weeks at the top of the German charts.
Here's a link to the theme:
And this is the Winnetou theme, the other major theme from the series:
Der Schatz im Silbersee (Treasure of the Silver Lake] was the first European western. A German-French-Italian co-production it was filmed in Yugoslavia and starred Lex Barker as Old Shatterhand and French actor Pierre Brice as Apache Chief Winnetou. The success of the film and its sequels (all somewhat loosely based on the novels by Karl May) turned Barker into Germany's biggest star of the 60s.
For Martin Böttcher who scored most of the series it was the highpoint of his career. While being in demand up until his retirement the rapidly declining quality of German films rarely gave him the opportunity to show what he was capable of doing. Sadly when the wave of the New German Cinema came along during the 70s they didn't have much use for traditional scoring.
91!? Remarkable. I had seen only 2 of these films - i think 1 with stewart granger? - but i do recall enjoying the gentle themes. I wasnt aware of them being on uk tv anytime.
I wondered if the Winnetou films were filmed near Almeria in spain but they were shot in a couple of locations in Croatia.
91!? Remarkable. I had seen only 2 of these films - i think 1 with stewart grainger? - but i do recall enjoying the gentle themes. I wasnt aware of them being on uk tv anytime.
I wondered if the Winnetou films were filmed near Almeria in spain but they were shot in a couple of locations in Croatia.
Stewart Granger did 3 or 4 films of the series. He seemed to behave like a primadonna on set so everybody was happy when Lex Barker was available. I never read or heard anything but good things about Barker from anyone involved with these films. The opposite is true for Granger.
Over the years there seems to have been plenty of releases of music from the Winnetou series. Never seen a proper review of any of them. Is anyone knowledgeable enough about these scores to know which are the most worthy/best-sounding releases and which are best avoided?
Over the years there seems to have been plenty of releases of music from the Winnetou series. Never seen a proper review of any of them. Is anyone knowledgeable enough about these scores to know which are the most worthy/best-sounding releases and which are best avoided?
Over the years there seems to have been plenty of releases of music from the Winnetou series. Never seen a proper review of any of them. Is anyone knowledgeable enough about these scores to know which are the most worthy/best-sounding releases and which are best avoided?
The most complete soundtracks were published in the out of print Martin Böttcher Collection which consisted of 5 CDs. They were reissued on the Bear Family label as part of the Karl May score collection Stefan Huber linked to in the above post. This is also out of print.
Currently available is a 3 CD boxset which consists of the 5 Polydor soundtracks that were released during the 60s. This seems to be a reasonably good collection.
That Winnetou box opened up a whole new world of film music to me. That while we thought film music was being invented in Hollywood others were developing from the same soil and doing it their way.
Yes this box set is a definite must for all filmmusic fans.As I said before its as if Barry met Schifrin.some real fantastic grand scoring and great use of congas etc. If you are into Goldsmiths Western ..Neal Hefti etc..you have to own it.Of course the Winnetou theme is most recognizable but for me all the other tunes are even better.check out the "Death of the chiefs son." Never heard a more intense and powerful tune before and its just 30 sec.
Sad news indeed. Not being German, I'm not familiar with the movies and TV series he was associated with, save maybe for two or three WINNETOU feature films I've seen on DVD and where I enjoyed the way he underscored large landscapes. By the way, I remember a funny TV report about the main actor Pierre Brice shot in the French town where he lives (somewhere in the North of Paris): although he's still a superstar in Germany, even taking part in revivals of the WINNETOU movies, virtually noone knew him and the character of Winnetou there!
In the meantime, I've tried to know Böttcher's music a bit more and have bought 10 CD's so far. I would easily recommend the following anthologies to start with:
- Deutsche Filmkomponisten - Folge 1 (Bear Family Records) - Die grossen Film-un TV-Melodien (2 CD, Warner Music Group): mind that the 1st CD is made of arrangements of other composers' tunes such as THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY, A MAN AND A WOMAN, etc - Sound Kaleidoscope (Motor Musik Gmbh)
Just heard it on the news this evening and wanted to put it on the non- filmscore side, but just found it here on the general board. Thanks for it. He will be missed.
As most Germans I grew up with Winnetou and Old Shatterhand and this beautiful scores. Martin Böttcher' s Winnetou scores was my first filmscore- LP.
I found theese two nice very old threads on the board.
I'd say his music was most of the time elegant and easy-going. He was primarily a guitar player and you can hear this instrument in many themes of his. If you like his Krimi scores, there are two superb German anthologies available. The mood is of course very much 60's-like.
Let's hope Peter Thomas who turned 90 not so long ago is well and kicking.
