Carl de Groof (born Karl Krof 3 December 1923

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

- 18 January 2007 Javea,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

) was an Austrian composer, film composer and orchestra conductor. De Groof began his career shortly after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He worked as an orchestral musician and a writer for composers like Hans Lang. He also became a conductor, most notably for the Hofburg Palace in 1946 and for the

Vienna Boys' Choir The Vienna Boys' Choir (german: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other coun ...

. In 1953 he founded the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra RAVAG, later dance orchestra of the Österreichischer Rundfunk (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation). In the same year he graduated with his own orchestra and also made an appearance in ''

Anna Louise and Anton ''Annaluise and Anton'' (German: ''Pünktchen und Anton'') is a 1953 Austrian-West German comedy film directed by Thomas Engel and starring Paul Klinger, Hertha Feiler, and Heidemarie Hatheyer. It was one of the 10 most popular films released in A ...

''. De Groof was then selected to write the background music and arrangement by

Helmut Käutner Helmut Käutner (25 March 1908 – 20 April 1980) was a German film director active mainly in the 1940s and 1950s. He entered the film industry at the end of the Weimar Republic and released his first films as a director in Nazi Germany. Käu ...

for his legendary guerrilla and anti-war film Die letzte Brücke (The Last Bridge). He also conducted the Austrian song in the 1957 Eurovision Song Contest. De Groof carried on in media and television work until the late 1960s and became known to many directors including

Georg Tressler Georg Tressler (January 25, 1917 – January 6, 2007) was a Vienna-born German film actor and film director. Also known as George Tressler, Hans Tressler, Hans Dressler, Hans Georg Keil and Hans Sternbeck (per IMDb). The son of actor Otto Tr ...

Rolf Thiele Rolf Thiele (7 March 1918 – 9 October 1994) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter. He directed 42 films between 1951 and 1977. He was born in Prödlitz, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His 1958 film ''Eva'' was enter ...

and

Rudolf Jugert Rudolf Jugert (1907–1979) was a German film director. Selected filmography * ''Film Without a Title'' (1948) * '' Hallo, Fräulein!'' (1949) * '' A Day Will Come'' (1950) * ''Nights on the Road'' (1952) * ''Illusion in a Minor Key'' (1952) * ''J ...

. His career ended in 1969 with the theme tune to the programme Der alte Richter starring

Paul Hörbiger Paul Hörbiger (29 April 1894 – 5 March 1981) was an Austrian theatre and film actor. Life and work Paul Hörbiger was born in the Hungarian capital Budapest, then part of Austria-Hungary, the son of engineer Hanns Hörbiger, founder of t ...

. De Groof has a very wide fan base and he was a long-time musical companion of Heinz Conrads. In the Sunday morning programme "Was gibt es Neues?" (What is the News?), De Groof played piano. With his own orchestra, Carl de Groof also recorded a number of records with Wiener Liedern und Heurigenmusik as well as the very popular Egyptian singer Samira Soliman. Carl de Groof found that he had multiple sclerosis at the beginning of the 1970s, which forced him to stop composing. Later in the same decade, he retired to Spain, where he spent his remaining years in the hope that the sunny climate would slow the progression of his condition.

References

External links

*
''Carl de Groof'' in filmportal.de (German)Nachruf in ''Der Standard'' (German)
1923 births 2007 deaths Austrian male composers Austrian composers Male conductors (music) 20th-century Austrian conductors (music) 20th-century Austrian male musicians {{Austria-conductor-stub