Harry Winter (24 September 1914 - 3 December 2001), born Horst Winter, was a German-Austrian singer, musician and band director.
Born in Beuthen, Upper Silesia (present-day Bytom, Poland), his family moved to Berlin after the Silesian Uprisings in 1921. He studied violin and clarinet at the Academy of Music and played in jazz and swing dance orchestras to earn a living, later becoming a bandleader. During the Nazi era, Winter adjusted to the regulations given by the Reichsmusikkammer and concentrated on singing and light dance music. As a Wehrmacht soldier, he was taken prisoner by American forces in late World War II.
Released from captivity after the war he proceeded to Vienna, where he first performed at the Konzerthaus and founded his own dance orchestra in 1946. His swing concerts became increasingly popular in Allied-occupied Austria. Winter could sign a recording contract and his orchestra was a guest in several Austrian radio shows. In 1948 he recorded the song Und jetzt ist es still , composed by Hans Lang, which, translated into English by Bert Reisfeld (It's Oh So Quiet), was covered by Betty Hutton in 1951 and popularized by Björk in 1995.
In the 1950s Winter performed in several revues and variety films with stars like Marika Rökk, but also played with jazz musicians like Hans Koller and Joe Zawinul. In 1960 he performed at the Eurovision Song Contest in London. His German entry Du hast mich so fasziniert(''You fascinated me so much'')" written by Robert Stolz finished seventh out of thirteen. In 1977 he became Kapellmeister of the highly traditional Austrian Hoch- und Deutschmeister military orchestra.
Winter continued to perform in concerts and TV shows into middle age. He died in Vienna, aged 87.
Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world.
Jürgen Udo Bockelmann, better known as Udo Jürgens, was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, composed close to 1,000 songs, and sold over 104 million records. In 2007, he additionally obtained Swiss citizenship. In 2010, he legally changed his name to Udo Jürgens Bockelmann.
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Friedrich Gulda was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields.
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Wilhelm Resetarits, better known as Willi Resetarits and Ostbahn Kurti, was an Austrian singer, comedian and human rights activist.
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An overview of the evolution of Jazz music in Germany reveals that the development of jazz in Germany and its public notice differ from the "motherland" of jazz, the US, in several respects.
Vincent Mendoza Bueno is an Austrian singer of Filipino descent.
Marianne Mendt is an Austrian jazz singer and actress, best known for her participation in the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest.
Willy Berking was a German orchestra conductor, trombonist, and composer.
The history of jazz in Belgium starts with the Dinant instrument maker Adolphe Sax, whose saxophone became part of military bands in New Orleans around 1900 and would develop into the jazz instrument par excellence. From then on the early history of jazz in Belgium virtually runs parallel to developments in the country of the birth of jazz, from the minstrel shows in the late 19th century until the first Belgian jazz album in 1927 and beyond.
Carl de Groof was an Austrian composer, film composer and orchestra conductor.
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Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "A Monster Like Me" written by Kjetil Mørland. The song was performed by Mørland and Debrah Scarlett. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2015 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. Eleven entries competed in a show that took place on 14 March 2015 and the winner was determined over two rounds of public televoting. The top four entries in the first round of voting advanced to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of public televoting, "A Monster Like Me" performed by Mørland and Debrah Scarlett was selected as the winner with 88,869 votes.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "I Am Yours" written by Jimmy Harry, Dominic Muhrer, Paul Estrela, Florian Meindl and Markus Christ. The song was performed by the band The Makemakes. In addition to participating in the contest, the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2014 with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" performed by Conchita Wurst. ORF organised the national final Wer singt für Österreich? in order to select the Austrian entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna. Sixteen artists competed over three televised shows resulting in the selection of six finalists with a potential Eurovision song each. In the final, ten international juries and a public vote first selected the top two entries to proceed to a second round of voting. In the second round, "I Am Yours" performed by The Makemakes was selected as the winner after gaining 78% of the votes from a public vote.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Loin d'ici" written by Zoë Straub and Christof Straub. The song was performed by Zoë. The Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) organised the national final Wer singt für Österreich? in order to select the Austrian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Ten songs competed in a televised show where a jury panel and a public vote first selected the top two entries to proceed to a second round of voting. In the second round, a public vote exclusively selected "Loin d'ici" performed by Zoë as the winner. This was the first time that the Austrian song was performed entirely in the French language at the Eurovision Song Contest. The Austrian song was also the only entry performed in the final entirely in a language other than English.
Erich Kleinschuster was an Austrian trombonist and bandleader.