Georg Kreisler awarded the Hölderlin Prize

Yesterday I heard in the radio that Georg Kreisler, the famous song writer, was awarded in Bad Homburg the Hölderlin Prize. I was amazed that he was still alive. There was also a short interview with him and the reporter asked him whether it was true that he saw Marlene Dietrich in her wardrobe, he was also asked what he saw, well, only a part of her leg he answered, but it was so long ago, didn't seem to be much impressed by her. But he is a great entertainer, and who says the Germans have no humour? Oh, pardon, he is from Vienna, a specific type of Austrian, and Jewish.

Indeed it shows that our society is still tolerant, if his chansons are liked, despite their macabre humour. In one song "Sport is healthy" he described how his family members all lost their life through sport, for example his cousin was a hunter and eaten by a bear, whose fur was now spread before his bed ...

To hear and watch his performance please click: The Triangle. (telling the story how a hopeful young pianist ended up as the man playing the triangle in the orchestra, dozing off while waiting 39 minutes for the nod of the conductor telling him to stand up and strike his triangle, especially Richard Strauss made him feel sleepy!)

His own website: Georg Kreisler für Grausame

And a collection of his song texts