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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.
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The Vienna Philharmonic, founded in 1842, is an orchestra considered to be one of the finest in the world.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1960 was the fifth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest and took place in London, United Kingdom. It was the first time that the United Kingdom had hosted the contest and was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), who agreed to stage the event after the Netherlands, having won the 1959 contest, declined to host another contest so soon, having hosted the 1958 edition. The contest was held at the Royal Festival Hall on Tuesday 29 March 1960 and was hosted by British television presenter Catherine Boyle, who would go on to be the host for the contest 3 more times. It was also the first Eurovision Song Contest held in a capital city, as well as the first one held in the British Isles and in the English-speaking world.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1966 was the 11th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, following the country's victory at the 1965 contest with the song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" by France Gall. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT), the contest was held at the Villa Louvigny on Saturday 5 March 1966 and was hosted by Josiane Chen.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1967 was the 12th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the 1966 contest with the song "Merci, Chérie" by Udo Jürgens. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), the contest was held at the Großer Festsaal der Wiener Hofburg on Saturday 8 April 1967, and was hosted by Erica Vaal.
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 100 million records. In 2007, he additionally obtained Swiss citizenship.
Vienna has been an important center of musical innovation. 18th- and 19th-century composers were drawn to the city due to the patronage of the Habsburgs, and made Vienna the European capital of classical music. Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Johann Strauss II, among others, were associated with the city, with Schubert being born in Vienna. During the Baroque period, Slavic and Hungarian folk forms influenced Austrian music. Vienna's status began its rise as a cultural center in the early 16th century, and was focused around instruments including the lute.
Friedrich Gulda was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields.
Wilhelm Resetarits, better known as Willi Resetarits and Dr. Kurt Ostbahn, is an Austrian singer, comedian and human rights activist.
Malcolm Neville Lockyer was a British film composer and conductor.
Roger Marcel Cicero Ciceu was a German jazz and pop musician.
The Eurovision Young Musicians 2000 was the tenth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at Grieg Hall in Bergen, Norway on 15 June 2000. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), musicians from eight countries participated in the televised final. A total of eighteen countries took part in the competition. All participants performed a classical piece of their choice accompanied by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Simone Young. Seven countries returned to the contest, while Croatia, Cyprus and Sweden withdrew from the 2000 contest.
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.
Thomas Neuwirth is an Austrian singer and drag queen who is known for his stage persona Conchita Wurst. Neuwirth came to international attention after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as Austria's entrant with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix".
Carl de Groof was an Austrian composer, film composer and orchestra conductor.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Black Smoke", written by Michael Harwood, Ella McMahon and Tonino Speciale. The song was performed by Ann Sophie. The German entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria was selected through the national final Unser Song für Österreich, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final included a club concert wildcard round which took place on 19 February 2015 and featured ten undiscovered artists. Gaining 24.1% of the public vote, Ann Sophie was selected to compete in the final alongside seven established acts which took place on 5 March 2015 with the winner being selected through three rounds of public voting. "Heart of Stone" performed by Andreas Kümmert was initially announced as the German entry for Vienna after placing among the top four during the first round of voting, among the top two during the second round of voting and ultimately gaining 78.7% of the vote in the third round, however the artist immediately forfeited his victory upon the announcement. The confirmation of national final runner-up "Black Smoke" performed by Ann Sophie as the German entry occurred during the post-show press conference. The unprecedented withdrawal of Kümmert garnered international media interest.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "I Am Yours", written by Jimmy Harry and The Makemakes. The song was performed by the band The Makemakes. In addition to participating in the contest, the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) was also the host of 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. An initial sixteen artists competed over four shows. In the final show of the competition, "I Am Yours" performed by The Makemakes was selected as the winner after gaining 78% of the votes from a public televote.
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.
