Oskar Sala was a composer and a pioneer of electronic music from Germany. He was famous for his groundbreaking work in blending electronic technology and musical instruments. He played an instrument called the Trautonium, an early form of electronic synthesizer. Also, he produced electronic soundtracks for such films as Veit Harlan’s Different from You and Me (1957), Rolf Thiele’s Rosemary (1959), and Fritz Lang’s Das Indische Grabmal (1959). He created the non-musical soundtrack for Alfred Hitchcock’s film The Birds. He was an honorary Senator of Berlin. On 18th July 2022, Google celebrated his 112th birthday with a Google Doodle.
Google honors Oskar Sala on his 112th birthday
On 18 July 2022, Google celebrated Sala’s 112th birthday with a Google Doodle. On Monday, Google is changing its logo in 27 countries to a doodle, or illustration, in his honor. Google has temporarily replaced its usual logo with a picture of Sala that, if clicked on, leads to a short biography celebrating the musician’s life and achievements on what would have been his 112th birthday. Google’s new logo shows Sala as an elderly man playing his mixture-trautonium, with the cacophony of sounds emitting from it forming the letters of the search engine’s name. Black crows in the two top corners of the picture seem to nod toward his work on The Birds. The company’s reasoning for Monday’s logo change, reads: “Today’s Doodle celebrates what would have been the 112th birthday of Oskar Sala, an innovative electronic music composer, and physicist. Recognized for producing sound effects on a musical instrument called a mixture-trautonium, Salas electrified the world of television, radio, and film… His efforts in electronic music opened the field of subharmonics. With his dedication and creative energy, he became a one-man orchestra. Happy birthday, Oskar Sala!” Google often adapts its logo temporarily and the company says: “Doodles are the fun, surprising, and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists.”
How did Oskar Sala die?
German physicist, author, and creator of electronic music, Oskar Sala passed away on 26th February 2002 in Berlin. He dies at 91. He died suddenly from a medical problem.
What was Oskar Sala Famous For?
- Being a German Composer and pioneer of electronic music.
- For playing an instrument ‘Trautonium”.
What was Oskar Sala Nationality?
Oskar Sala took birth on July 18, 1910. He was from Greiz, Thuringia, Germany which made his nationality of German. His ethnic background was German-White. For the last time, Sala celebrated his 91st birthday. He was born into a musical family. His father, Paul, was an ophthalmologist and his mother, Annemarie, was a singer. During his young age, he used to make his own soundtracks.
Source: @zestonews.com
Sala initially studied piano and organ during his youth time. He then started performing classical piano concerts as a teenager. After he moved to Berlin, he studied piano and composition with composer and violist Paul Hindemith at the Berlin Conservatory in 1929. He also followed the experiments of Dr. Friedrich Trautwein, at the school’s laboratory, learning to play with Trautwein’s pioneer electronic instrument, the Trautonium. He alongside Paul Hindemith gave a public performance at the Berliner Musikhochschule Hall called “Neue Musik Berlin 1930″ on 20th June 1930 to introduce the Trautonium. He then toured Germany with the Trautonium; in 1931, he was the soloist in a performance of Hindemith’s Concert for Trautonium with String Quartet. He later studied physics at the University of Berlin between 1932 and 1935. In 1935, he built a “Radio-Trautonium”, and in 1938 a portable model, the “Konzerttrautonium”. Moreover, he was a soldier during the Nazi era. He was on the Eastern Front during World War II, where he was injured.
Oskar Sala Career and Life Story
- Sala developed the Trautonium into the Mixtur-Trautonium in 1948. His invention opened the field of subharmonics.
- In 1952, he presented his new instrument to the public. Soon, he received international licenses for its circuits.
- Harald Genzmer delivered the score to the first Concert For Mixtur-Trautonium And Grand Orchestra.
- During the 1950s, he built the Quartett-Trautonium.
- During the 1940s and 1950s, he worked on many film scores.
- It was in 1958, that he established his own studio at Mars film GmbH (4th incarnation) in Berlin.
- From there, he produced electronic soundtracks for such films as Veit Harlan’s Different from You and Me (1957), Rolf Thiele’s Rosemary (1959), and Fritz Lang’s Das Indische Grabmal (1959).
- He also created the non-musical soundtrack for Alfred Hitchcock’s film The Birds.
- During his career in film scores, he achieved many awards but he never won an Oscar.
- On 18 July 2022, Google celebrated his 112th birthday with a Google Doodle.
Who was Oskar Sala married to?
Oskar Sala was a married man to his beautiful wife, Kathe. He married Kathe before returning to the open field with his traveling companion. Together, they moved to Egypt, Italy, Greece, and the United States. He also had children with his wife whose name is still to get disclosed yet. As per sources, Kathe dies in the year 1999 due to natural causes. After that, there is no news and rumors about his dating or affairs history with anyone. It seems was living a single life at the time of his death. His sexual orientation was straight and he was not gay.
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