Mark Lothar ó:tar(born Lothar Hundertmark; 23 May 1902, in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

– 6 April 1985, in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Life

From 1921 to 1926 he studied piano with

Franz Schreker Franz Schreker (originally ''Schrecker''; 23 March 1878 – 21 March 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, librettist, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, Schreker developed a style characterized by aesthetic pluralit ...

and Walther Carl Meiszner in Berlin"Lothar, Mark" in Munzinger Online/KLfG - Kritisches Lexikon zur fremdsprachigen Gegenwartsliteratur. In der Neuen Deutschen Biographie (NDB), Band 15, S. 233 ist fälschlicherweise von "Klavierunterricht bei W.C. Meiszner in Dresden ic die Rede and with

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (born Ermanno Wolf) (January 12, 1876 – January 21, 1948) was an Italian composer and teacher. He is best known for his comic operas such as ''Il segreto di Susanna'' (1909). A number of his works were based on plays by ...

in Munich. Early on he became famous accompanying singers such as

Erna Berger Erna Berger (19 October 1900 – 14 June 1990) was a German lyric coloratura soprano. She was best known for roles such as Queen of the Night and Konstanze. Career Born in Dresden, Germany, Berger spent some years as a child in India and Sout ...

, Corry Nera, who in 1934 on became his wife, and

Hermann Prey Hermann Prey ( Berlin, 11 July 1929 – Krailling, 22 July 1998) was a German lyric baritone, who was equally at home in the Lied, operatic and concert repertoires. His American debut was in November 1952, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and ...

. In 1933 he was recruited as a music specialist for the German Theater by

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...

, since Lothar was a member of the

Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur The Militant League for German Culture (German: ''Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur'', ''KfdK''), was a nationalistic Antisemitism, anti-Semitic political society during the Weimar Republic and the Nazi era. It was founded in 1928 as the ''Nationalsoz ...

, an antisemitic organization forming part of the

Völkisch movement The ''Völkisch'' movement ( , , also called Völkism) was a Pan-Germanism, Pan-German Ethnic nationalism, ethno-nationalist movement active from the late 19th century through the dissolution of the Nazi Germany, Third Reich in 1945, with remn ...

. One year later he became the musical director of the Prussian State Theater in Berlin thanks to

Gustaf Gründgens Gustaf Gründgens (; 22 December 1899 – 7 October 1963), born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hambur ...

. He held this position until 1944. During his tenure, he composed various pieces on behalf of

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

. In May 1938 his opera '' Tailor Wibbel'', inspired by a play by

Hans Müller-Schlösser Hans Müller-Schlösser (14 June 1884 – 21 March 1956) was a German poet and playwright closely associated with his native city of Düsseldorf. Müller-Schlösser is best known for his 1913 play '' Wibbel the Tailor'', which inspired a 1938 oper ...

, was performed at the

Berlin State Opera The Staatsoper Unter den Linden ( State Opera under the Lime Trees), also known as the Berlin State Opera (), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of P ...

. In August 1944, Adolf Hitler included in the

Gottbegnadeten list The ''Gottbegnadeten-Liste'' ("God-gifted list" or "Important Artist Exempt List") was a 36-page list of artists considered crucial to National Socialist culture. The list was assembled in September 1944 by Joseph Goebbels, the head of the Mi ...

, an exclusive list of artists exempt form military service. Since 1945 he worked for the Bavarian state theater and since 1955 as free composer based in Munich. He was also renown as a composer of theater and film music (e.g. form Friedemann Bach, Holiday in Tyrol and

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

) and of songs to text from

Hermann Löns Hermann Löns (29 August 1866 – 26 September 1914) was a German journalist and writer. He is most famous as "The Poet of the Heath" for his novels and poems celebrating the people and landscape of the North German moors, particularly the L ...

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

Joachim Ringelnatz Joachim Ringelnatz is the pen name of the German author and painter Hans Bötticher (7 August 1883 in Wurzen, Saxony – 17 November 1934 in Berlin). From 1894 to 1900 he lived with his family in the Gottschedstrasse 40 in Leipzig. Profile Hi ...

Christian Morgenstern Christian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern (6 May 1871 – 31 March 1914) was a German writer and poet from Munich. Morgenstern married Margareta Gosebruch von Liechtenstern on 7 March 1910. He worked for a while as a journalist in Berlin ...

and other German poets. His grave is located on the Solln Cemetery in Munich.

Selected filmography

* '' The Devil and Circe'' (1921) * ''

The False Step ''The False Step'' or ''The Step off the Path'' () is a 1939 German historical drama film directed by Gustaf Gründgens and starring Marianne Hoppe, Karl Ludwig Diehl and Paul Hartmann. It is an adaptation of Theodor Fontane's 1896 novel ''Eff ...

'' (1939) * '' Friedemann Bach'' (1941) * ''

Nora Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (1931–2025), French historian * Simon Nora (1921–2006), French politician Place ...

'' (1944) * '' Keepers of the Night'' (1949) * '' The White Hell of Pitz Palu'' (1950) * ''

The Great Temptation ''The Great Temptation'' () is a 1952 West German drama film directed by Rolf Hansen and starring Dieter Borsche, Ruth Leuwerik and Renate Mannhardt.Hake p. 115 It was made at the Bavaria Studios in Munich. The film's sets were designed by the ...

'' (1952) * ''

His Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style (manner of address), style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Kings and their female Queen consort, consorts, as well as queens regnant, are usually styled ''Maje ...

'' (1953) * ''

Beloved Enemy ''Beloved Enemy'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by H.C. Potter and starring Merle Oberon, Brian Aherne, and David Niven. It was loosely based on the life of Michael Collins. Plot During the Irish War of Independence in 1921, Irish ...

'' (1955) * '' Devil in Silk'' (1956) * '' Regine'' (1956) * '' And Lead Us Not Into Temptation'' (1957)

References

* Lothar, Mark ; Ott, Alfons (Herausgeber): ''Mark Lothar. Ein Musikerporträt''. München,

Süddeutscher Verlag The Süddeutscher Verlag (SV) is a corporate group that has emerged from the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Founded as a newspaper publisher, Süddeutscher Verlag developed into one of Germany's largest media companies, providing to Germany and abroad. Th ...

1968. 228 Seiten. * ''Mark Lothar 1902-1985, Seine Musik - sein Leben. Eine Ausstellung aus den Beständen der Münchner Stadtbibliothek Am Gasteig vom 4. November bis 31. Dezember 1985''. München: Münchner Stadtbibliothek Am Gasteig 1985. 40 S.

External links

Musikverlag Ries & Erler
1902 births 1985 deaths Composers from Berlin Militant League for German Culture members 20th-century German composers {{Germany-composer-stub