![]() Īt the age of 60, he was made an honorary citizen of Thamsbrück. Commander Charles Brendler of the United States Navy Band 1942-1962 considered him the greatest march writer who ever lived. Composer and arranger Gay Corrie has said it is difficult to tell his marches apart but found the euphonium countermelodies and woodwind figures admirable. Opinions vary on the quality of his marches. His marches also stress the piccolo, clarinet, and cornet sections.Ī few months before his 81st birthday, Blankenburg intended to compose another march, but he died in Wesel in 1956 before completing the piece. He was fond of soaring euphonium countermelodies, which require a highly competent euphonium section prepared to perform in the upper register of the instrument. His marches are all in the characteristic German style. Over 100 of Blankenburg's marches were recorded in the Heritage of the March series. There are long gaps in the sequence of opus numbers and many marches have no opus number assigned.Īt least 300 of his marches were published (by thirty different publishers), but many more are lost or destroyed. ![]() The highest known opus number is 1275 (the march "Semper Paratus" likely published in 1936 ) and the lowest is 9 (for "Fliegerhelden Marsch"). He also renamed some older marches with new titles. Blankenburg numbered his march compositions at 1,328, but he was careless in assigning opus numbers or in completing compositions. He continued to compose marches until 1948. His one thousandth march was composed in 1928: "Der Tausendkünstler" (Jack of All Trades), dedicated to fellow composer Paul Lincke. For twenty years he composed at least one march a week. Despite the military titles of many of his marches and his short military band service, Blankenburg's compositions were never accorded official recognition by Germany's military authorities.īlankenburg is likely the most prolific march composer in history. After World War II his compositional efforts dropped off. Instead of accepting commissions, he composed marches when inspired. In the 1920s and 30s Blankenburg's marches attained European fame. The march became popular, and Hawkes (also Boosey & Hawkes) would publish several more of Blankenburg's compositions, including "Adlerflug", "Festjubel", "Territorial", and "Mein Regiment" (the latter said to be the composer's own favorite march). Hawkes chose Blankenburg's march as the winner, from over 500 submitted, with the proviso the title be changed from "Deutschlands Fürsten" (Germany's Princes) to "Abschied der Gladiatoren" (The Gladiators' Farewell). In 1904, a march he had written years before was submitted to a Hawkes & Son march competition. ![]() In 1920 he married Käthe Trauthoff and was then arrested for bigamy.īlankenburg's March Compositions He had married Magdalena Weidmann in Germersheim in 1898. In 1917 he was arrested by the military police from his former regiment for "deserting his family". He also worked as a bricklayer and a policeman for a short time. He remained in Wesel for the rest of his life.īlankenburg played in and conducted community bands as well as performing in the orchestras in Dortmund, Wuppertal, and Duisburg. He played tuba in the band of Field Artillery Regiment No. 43 in Wesel from 1913 until 1915, when he got a medical discharge. ![]() After that his only service was prior to and during the early years of World War I in reserve bands. He served actively in the military for two years (1896–1898), playing tuba in the band of the 6th Field Artillery Regiment in Breslau. His family agreed on his studying music as long as he promised to serve in the army for twelve years.īlankenburg taught himself to play various instruments including bassoon, tuba, and violin and he conducted his school orchestra at the age of ten. However, he showed a propensity for music starting with performing on the piccolo – a favorite instrument his entire life. Raised on a sheep farm in Thamsbrücke, he was expected to manage the farm someday. He was born with the middle name Louis but changed it to Ludwig later in life perhaps as a connection to Beethoven. Hermann Ludwig Blankenburg (14 November 1876 in Thamsbrück – in Wesel) was a German composer of military marches.īlankenburg was the only son of three children of Johann Heinrich and Ernestine Friederike Koch Blankenburg.
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