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Frank Strobel

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Frank Strobel is a German conductor, born in 1966 in Munich. He grew up in his parents' cinema, taught himself to be a projectionist and so came into contact with film and film music at a young age. Later he became a musician and conductor. Until 1998 he was principal conductor of the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg. Since 2000 he has led the European Film Philharmonic and advised on the silent film programming of ZDF and Arte.

Music and breakthrough

Strobel became known for his work on film in the concert hall. He is the recognised editor of music by Alfred Schnittke and from 2001 contributed to Schnittke's reputation as a film composer in the German-speaking world. With the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin he recorded several pieces by Schnittke, including the series Film Music. In 2003 and 2004 he had success in Berlin and Moscow with a concert accompanying the film Alexander Nevsky with music by Prokofiev, for which he reconstructed the original score. In November 2004 he received the highest Russian civilian honour at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. On 12 February 2012 he conducted the world premiere of the reconstructed version of Metropolis, performed by the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin.

Influence

Strobel has provided music for more than forty silent films, often in performances that were broadcast on television. He is among the pioneers of the film-in-concert movement, in which an orchestra plays the music to a film live. In doing so he has brought film music out of the shadow of the image.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a piece from Schnittke's Film Music in Strobel's recordings and notice how the music tells a story of its own even without the picture. Ask yourself which scene you would expect to go with it.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists