Henry Maria Krips, MBE (10 February 1912 – 25 January 1987) was an Austrian-Australian conductor and composer, best known for his 23-year record term (1949–1972) as principal conductor of the

South Australian Symphony Orchestra The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is a South Australian orchestra based in Adelaide, established in 1936. The orchestra's primary performance venue is the Adelaide Town Hall, but the ASO also performs in other venues. It provides the orchest ...

(it had been founded in 1936 as the

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is a South Australian orchestra based in Adelaide, established in 1936. The orchestra's primary performance venue is the Adelaide Town Hall, but the ASO also performs in other venues. It provides the orchest ...

and reverted to that name in 1975). He is credited with introducing the works of

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

to Australian audiences.Australian Dictionary of Biography
/ref>

Life and career

Henry Krips was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1912 as Heinrich Josef Krips; his brother was the conductor

Josef Krips Josef Alois Krips (8 April 1902 – 13 October 1974) was an Austrian conductor and violinist. Life and career Krips was born in Vienna. His father was Josef Jakob Krips, a medical doctor and amateur singer, and his mother was Aloisia, née Seit ...

. His father was a Jewish-born convert to Catholicism, and his mother was from a Catholic family. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory, and made his début in 1932 at the Burgtheater there. After the 1938

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

, as his brother Josef left Vienna for

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, Heinrich Krips emigrated to Australia. He formed the Krips-de Vries Opera Company there, and also served as musical director for the Kirsova Ballet in Sydney in 1941. He was naturalised in 1944 and changed his first name to Henry. From 1947 Krips worked for the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

. He was the main conductor of the

West Australian Symphony Orchestra The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Perth, Western Australia. Its principal concert venue is the Perth Concert Hall. WASO also gives concerts at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. , WASO ...

(

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

) from 1948 to 1972, and the principal conductor of the then-named South Australian Symphony Orchestra (Adelaide) from 1949 to 1972. For more than 20 years he played a leading part in Australian and New Zealand musical life. In 1955 Alfred Hill dedicated to Krips his Symphony No. 4. Henry Krips was also active as a composer. He wrote the score for the 1949 film ''

Sons of Matthew ''Sons of Matthew'' is a 1949 Australian film directed and produced and co-written by Charles Chauvel (filmmaker), Charles Chauvel. The film was shot in 1947 on location in Queensland, Australia, and the studio sequences in Sydney. ''Sons of Matt ...

''. In 1951 there was a competition for a new national anthem to celebrate the golden jubilee of the

Federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Wester ...

. Krips's entry ''This Land of Mine'' won the competition, but was not taken up as the national anthem. His other compositions include opera, ballets, numerous songs and instrumental pieces, including music for the ABC

animated cartoon Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

, ''

Waltzing Matilda "Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem". The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing ...

''. In 1970 he was appointed a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE).It’s an Honour: MBE
/ref> In 1972 he moved to London, where he had appeared as a guest conductor with the

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

Opera from 1967, and conducted occasional concerts. His performances of Johann Strauss and

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is '' The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life and career L ...

were particularly admired. Henry Krips died in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

in 1987. His grandson,

Henry Wagons Henry Josef Wagons is an Australian singer/songwriter, musician, radio & TV personality and frontman of the outlaw country rock band, Wagons (band) who have released seven albums in Australia, and made their U.S. debut with 2011's ''Rumble, Sha ...

, is an Australian singer/songwriter, musician, radio and TV personality and frontman of the popular outlaw country rock band

Wagons A wagon (or waggon) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

Works

* ''Blue Mountains'' * ''Legend''

Songs

* 1951 ''Land of Mine''

Instrumental and orchestral

* 1956 ''Southern intermezzo'' (saxophone with piano) * 1957 ''The revolution of the umbrellas'' (orchestral music) * 1959 ''Kirribilli'' (orchestral) * ''Romanze'' * ''Serenata piccola''

Ballet

*''Faust'' (1941) *''The revolution of the umbrellas'' (1941)

Film scores

*''Gone to the Dogs'' (1939) *''Come up Smiling'' (1939) *''Dad Rudd, M.P.'' (1940) *''The Power and the Glory'' (1941) *''Smithy'' (1946) *''Sons of Matthew'' (1949)

References

External links

* Australian Music Centre
Henry Krips (1912-1987)
* ''Australian Dictionary of Biography''
Henry Joseph Krips (1912–1987)
by Zaiga Sudrabs
Krips, Henry Joseph (1912-1987)
in National Library of Australia. {{DEFAULTSORT:Krips, Henry Austrian male conductors (music) Australian male conductors (music) Australian conductors (music) Australian male composers Australian film score composers Male film score composers Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire 1912 births 1987 deaths Musicians from Vienna Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss to Australia 20th-century Austrian conductors (music) 20th-century Austrian male musicians 20th-century composers 20th-century Australian male musicians 20th-century Australian musicians