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Heinz
Sandauer conducts operetta selections from 'Viktoria und ihr Husar' and 'Die Blume
von Hawaii' (Paul Abraham) on Philips P 10115 R from the early nineteen fifties.
On Philips P 10110 R he leads 'The Merry Widow' - Die lustige Witwe (Franz
Lehar) and 'White horse Inn' - Im Weissen Rössl (Ralph Benatzky).
Visit
YouTube 
Operetta
Jewels from Circus Princess, Count of Luxemburg, Frederike, The Bat, Paganini
and The Cousin from Nowhere - with Walter Anton Dotzer, Ilona Steingruber and
the "Wiener Symphoniker", Heinz Sandauer conductor (Philips S 06047
R).
Heinz
Sandauer the cocktail hour pianist (Philips P 10304 R).
Selections
of the Cole Porter and Gershwin LPs were later released on Palace M-710: Love
for Sale, Lady Be Good, Night and Day, coupled with "Twilight Concert"
(Scherzo from Midsummer Night's Dream, The Young Prince and the Young Princess,
and Fledermaus Overture).
Twilight
Concert No. 5
Cover by Alex Steinweiss
Frank
Loesser's The Most Happy Fella with Jo Sullivan, Art Lund, Susan Johnson, Shorty
Long and Mona Paulee.
Club
français du disque CDF1: Nelson Mass (Haydn) (Missa in Angustiis) with
Jonathan Sternberg conducting the Vienna Opera Orchestra. The singers are Theresa
Stich-Randall, Rudolf Schock, Mona Paulee and Gottlob Frick.
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When
Mona Paulee visited Europe in the summer of 1952 and also performed
in Vienna, the obvious thing for producer Marcel Prawy to do was to
obtain taped performances of this beautiful voice for release on Don
Gabor's Remington label. I suspect that the recordings with Miss Paulee
were radio recordings made by the OR, Österreichischer Rundfunk
(Austrian Public Broadcasting Service) as the technical quality surpasses
the sound of most Viennese recordings produced by Marcel Prawy himself.
In
these recordings the orchestra is not the Tonkünstler-Orchester
or Austrian Symphony Orchestra as it was often referred to, but Mona
Paulee sang various selections with the famous Viennese orchestra
of pianist-conductor-composer Heinz Sandauer, "Der Sandauer",
as the popular band leader was called.
Heinz Sandauer
Heinz
Sandauer (Vienna, January 1, 1911 - August 5, 1979) was a composer, conductor,
arranger and orchestrator. In the last capacity he worked for Franz Léhar,
Emmerich Kálmán and Robert Stolz. As a youth he "became acquainted
with nearly all the secondary schools in Vienna". And he "must have
consumed about ten stalwart and determined female piano teachers" before
studying at the Vienna State Music Academy, as Sandauer writes on the back of
the cover of Philips P10304R. The talented Sandauer received his degree with distinction.
According to the info on the AEIOU web site and other sources,
he took up the post of conductor of the Viennese Radio Orchestra
(Wiener Rundfunkorchester)
in 1937. From 1946 on he worked for the radio station Red-White-Red
(Rot-Weiß-Rot) and later for the Austrian Radio and Television
Organization ORF. From 1963 on he was a professor at the 'Wiener
Musikhochschule' where he taught the lighter side of music and
jazz. He
is the author of a course for jazz piano for the advanced jazz
pianist.
Heinz Sandauer made numerous recordings with various artists
who sang popular songs and selections from operettas. He composed
songs and a few more serious scores too: 'Concerto Ritmico for
Two Solo Percussion Instruments and Orchestra', 'Hungaria' (for
Piano and Orchestra), 'Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra',
and 'Swanee River', subtitled 'Variations for Orchestra on a
Negro Spiritual'.
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| Heinz
Sandauer
Picture taken from Elite
Special SOLP-439 on which he plays together with pianist
Peter Kreuder and a rhythm section
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Heinz Sandauer
studied under Austrian composer Joseph Marx at the Viennese
State Academy for Music and Dramatic Art (Staatsakademie - now
Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst) and
later he became a professor at this institute himself. Many
studied with Joseph Marx who was a romantic but also a conservative
and one best option to learn the basics of form, harmony and
full-blooded orchestrations, and for acquiring skill.
Heinz Sandauer started writing music for films when he was in
his twenties. In all he wrote scores for twenty movies and arranged
scores for many other motion pictures, a.o. the science fiction
movie 'Destination Moon' from 1952 (in 1957 Sandauer recorded
his arrangement of Leith Stevens's score in stereo with the
Vienna Concert Orchestra).
He also arranged several songs of his teacher, Joseph Marx.
Together with Willy Schmidt-Gentner he arranged Marx's "A
New Years Hymn" (Ein Neujahrshymnus) for mixed choir, organ
and orchestra originally composed in 1914. Sandauer's orchestrated
version was heard in the motion picture "Cordula"
(1950).
Through records Sandauer's name became famous in many European
countries, especially in the nineteen thirties and fifties.
In the US he appeared on Urania 8004: "Music Under the
Stars" with selections in the semi-classical style of pieces
written by Christian Sinding, Claude Debussy, Riccardo Drigo,
Edwin Lemare, Zdenek Fibich, Anton Rubinstein, Peter Tchaikovsky,
Joachim Raff, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Gounod,
Ignac Paderewski, Ricjard Wagner, and Frederic Chopin, with
violinist Walter Schneiderhan and pianist Otto Schulhof, and
Heinz Sandauer conducting the Vienna Philharmusica Symphony
Orchestra in this recording.
On Philips
Records he conducted operettas for which - so it seems -
he arranged the scores in his flamboyant, entertaining style.
P 10109 R -
Das Land des Lächelns (The Land of Smiles) and Paganini
P 10110 R - Die Lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) and Im
Weissen Rössl (White Horse's Inn);
P 10115 R - Viktoria
und Ihr Husar and Blume von Hawai (Flower of Hawai);
P 10214 P - Gräfin Maritza (Countess Maritza) and
Maske in Blau (Mask in Blue).
P 10215 R
- Frederike and Schön ist die Welt (Franz Lehar).
Stars
on these records from the nineteen fifties are Sari Barabas, Maria Mucke, Gerda
Scheyrer, Hedy Fassler, Rudolf Christ, Hainz Roland, Toni Niessner, Walter Anton
Dotzer, Friedl Pöltinger, a.o. with the Vienna Broadcasting Orchestra and
Academy Choir. His arrangements are showish, skillful and have verve as have the
arrangements for the Mona Paulee recordings. They also show some traits typical
of the music of German movies, of radio shows and of the television shows of the
nineteen fifties and sixties. Though probably less prolific, Heinz Sandauer was
for the Austrians what the elderly Louis Levy with his orchestra and big band
was for the Brits and the British film industry.
- Rudolf .A. Bruil, 2005.
| There
would not have been a better arranger and conductor to accompany the versatile
voice of Mona Paulee in songs of American musical shows.
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| Mona
Paulee around 1952
Picture taken from Remington
R-199-120 and edited by R.A.B. |
As Mona
Paulee's selections were too many to release on just one record, Don Gabor
cleverly released the songs on three different discs and added on the B-Sides
mostly excerpts of classical concertos, symphonies and operas from his standing
catalogue. This not only meant that it was necessary to buy all three records
instead of one in order to have all songs, but the releases did initiate many
consumers to the field of classical music and to the Remington catalog of course.
The records were
issued in the special 'Twilight Concert' series.
Mona Paulee was an attractive
addition to the section "American musical shows" of the Remington catalog,
which listed also singers Jean Campbell and Bob Dale (R-199-115,
South Pacific).
Furthermore there was Christina Carroll in the Remington catalog
on R-149-41. On RLP-149-46 with Jerome Kern favorites, she sang Smoke
Gets In Your Eyes, Yesterdays, They'll Never Believe Me, The Last
Time I saw Paris, All The Things You Are, with the Austrian Symphony
Orchestra conducted by Max Schònherr, alternated with a few
selections played by Fred Clement And His Orchestra.
There were more singers on Gabor's disks: Elizabeth Humphries
and Lucille Graham singing selections from The King and I (Hammerstein)
with Frank Chacksfield and His Orchestra (R-149-55).
But with Mona Psaulee he had
a large number of songs to be sure of increased sales, because the voice of Mona
Paulee is not only beautiful, but also expressive, and the singer conveys
much more than ease and spaciousness. One could say that her timbre is ephemeral
and often touching, attributes which are not always encountered in one voice.
R-199-119 Mona
Paulee sings Romberg - One Kiss, Softly as in a Morning Sunrise, Lover Come
Back To Me - and Gershwin - Somebody Loves Me - coupled with Scherzo
From 'A Midsummer Night's Dream (Mendelssohn), The Young Prince And The Young
Princess From 'Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov), Overture To 'Die Fledermaus' (Johann
Strauss). Issued as Twilight Concert No. 3 (selections also later released on
Paris P-125). R-199-120
Mona Paulee sings Gershwin - The Man I Love - and Friml - L'Amour,
toujours l'amour, Indian Love Call - coupled with excerpts from compositions by
Tchaikovsky: Waltz Of The Flowers, Pizzicato Ostinato from Symphony No. 4, and
Conzonetta (Andante) and Finale (Allegro) from the Violin Concerto with Michèle
Auclair. Issued as Twilight Concert No.4.
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| Twilight
Concert No. 4
Cover by Alex Steinweiss |
R-199-122 Mona Paulee
sings Cole Porter - Love for Sale, Night and Day - and Gershwin - Lady
Be Good, coupled with excerpts from compositions by Bizet, Puccini, Rimsky-Korsakov
Issued as Twilight Concert No. 5
Several songs were also issued on 7"
discs like REP 65 and REP 68 with Lover Come Back to Me and Love for Sale respectively.
On Plymouth P-12-67 Gabor
released The Man I Love, Somebody Loves Me and Lady Be Good together
with selections from Cavalleria Rusticana and Tosca taken from the classical Remington
catalog.
These are all
lovely performances. Gershwin's "The man I Love" is very
expressive with a powerful orchestral arrangement written by Sandauer
with varying tempi and a few short phrases of the piano. Friml's songs
are romantic, Porter's have a longing atmosphere, and the Romberg
selections were of course appropriate as Sigmund Romberg (also a Hungarian
and fellow countryman of Gabor, born in Nagykanisza on 29 July, 1887)
had died on November 9 of 1951. Romberg's songs enjoyed a renewed
popularity, but his shows did not survive as they were old fashioned.
"Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" is his most well
known song and maintained itself mainly in many a fine jazz performance
(like the one by Shelley Manne and his Men at the Manne Hole on the
two LP release on Lester Konig's Contemporary Records), or pianists
Sonny Clark and Wynton Kelly respectively. Mona Paulee sings this
gem beautifully, though Sandauer plays the song in a rather stressed
tango mood and the performance reaches an intensity of its own, quite
different if compared to the beauty of matron Helen Traubel's
exquisite performance accompanied by Jose Ferrer on the piano,
in the movie "Deep in my Heart", Sigmund Romberg's
biopic from a few years later (1954).
The
liner notes on Remington R-199-120 give a short biography:
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Mona Paulee - Mezzo Soprano
An
enviable position in the fields of concert, opera and radio is held today by sparkling,
dark-haired Mona Paulee. A beautiful and warm voice, musicianship of extraordinary
versatility and penetrating interpretative gifts combine with a vivacious temperament
to make Mona Paulee an appeal to the musical sophisticates and on other occasions
speak a simple heart-to-heart language.
Mona Paulee was born in Canada but
was brought up in the United States. She received her early music education in
Portland, Oregon, and pursued her music goal through many arduous phases, beginning
in night clubs and movie houses, then to concerts on the west coast, and a debut
with the San Francisco Opera. Eventually she became a member of the Metropolitan.
While still devoting part of her time each season to operatic appearances, lovely
Miss Paulee has concentrated more and more on recital, radio and television appearances.
Her concert tours are more extensive and she is often guest star on the top programs
of the air. During 1950 and 1951, she made two tours through Central America where
she scored brilliant new successes. She appeared in Europe, for the first time
in the summer of 1952, and was acclaimed in England, Scandinavia and Holland for
her concerts and broadcasts there. However, the greatest triumphs in the career
of Mona Paulee have been her New York recitals which are hailed by the Metropolitan
press as musical events of first order.
"Her voice is the most voluptuous
mezzo-soprano to be heard this side of the ocean..." - New York Herald Tribune
"The luscious quality of her mezzo-soprano in the lower register was carried through
to the high notes with a striking ring in its timbre. She was taken to the heart
of the audience at once." - Washington, DC Star
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Numerous were the
positive reviews in newspapers when she performed in Oklahoma, Tacoma, San Diego,
Cincinnati, Philadelphia and New York. The Philadelphia Bulletin spoke of "The
natural beauty and strength of her voice and the warmth and imagination of her
interpretative style..." and the critic of the San Diego Union said: "Mona
Paulee, exotic brunette, whose glorious mezzo-soprano voice scored a tremendous
triumph, impressed with the beauty of her vibrant, richly colored voice, animated
by intelligence and fine musicianship." 
(From the SoundFountain Archive) In
1956 she had a minor role next to Jo Sullivan, Art Lund, Susan Johnson, and Shorty
Long in Frank Loesser's musical "The Most Happy Fella". The conductor
was Herbert Green. The complete musical was recorded under the supervision
of Goddard Lieberson. This was a phonographic first for a complete musical (as
was Lieberson's famous production of 'Porgy and Bess' for a complete opera). The
show was issued on 3 Lp's (O3L-240). Selections were released on Columbia
OL 5118. In the early seventies these recordings were electronically re-recorded
to simulate stereo, the odd practice which was followed at the time for commercial
reasons, in most cases to the detriment of the sound quality. The record with
selections only has one number featuring Mona Paulee and not even in a solo. To
hear more of her the complete show has to be owned.
Mona Paulee was the winner of the "Metropolitan Auditions of the Air Competition"
in 1941. From 1938 on she followed daily lessons with Mr. John A. Patton,
who served on the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley; Occidental
College, at Los Angeles; the Colorado College of Education; and the Utica Conservatory
of Music, New York. He is widely known as the 'Voice Doctor of Hollywood'. Miss
Paulee made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, the Met, singing Gianetta in
'L'élisir d'amore' (Donizetti), she had given solo performances with the
Pasadena Bach Society, had been enrolled with the San Francisco Opera Company,
and sang Lola in 'Cavalleria Rusticana', Nicklaus in 'Tales of Hoffmann',
Frederick in 'Mignon', Amneris in 'Aida', and Maddalena in 'Rigoletto'.
She even toured with the Columbia Concerts Opera Company during the war and had
the title role - with Regina Resnik and Winifred Heidt alternating - in "Carmen"
(as mentioned by Victoria Etnier Villamil in her book "From Johnson's Kids
to Lemonade Opera", 2004).
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| A
newspaper clip of Mona Paule (as Lady Thiang) and Jackie Metcalf (as the Crown
Prince) in the Starlight Musicals Production of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein's
"The King and I" (in Indianapolis, 1959).
Image
submitted by Bill Schumacher, USA | Mona
Paulee also sang in numerous concerts in the nineteen thirties, forties and fifties.
She had minor parts and significant parts. She was Hirtenknabe in Mozart's 'Die
Zauberflöte' (The Magic Flute) and sang in 'Don Giovanni' under
Bruno Walter in 1942. She appeared in Charpentier's 'Louise' in
1943 under Sir Thomas Beecham. She sang in Mahler's Fourth Symphony under
Richard Burgin in Boston in 1945. On
April 3, 4 and 5, 1955, she sang in Verdi's Requiem alongside soprano Francis
Yeend, tenor Gabor Carelli (substituted by Jack Waggoner on April 4th)
and bass Yi-Kwei Sze, Sir Thomas Beecham conducting. A year before she
had sung once again in Vienna in works by Gabrieli and Monteverdi (Paul Hindemith's
Instrumentation) with among others Uta Graf (soprano), Waldemar Kmentt
(tenor) and Wolfram Mertz (bass), Paul Hindemith conducting the
Wiener Singakademie and Wiener Symphoniker (1954). In 1959 she once again starred
in a musical. This time with Jackie Metcalf in "The Kind and I".
Although her
parts were important, only a few times she was top of the bill. That is often
the fate of a mezzo-soprano who has to yield the prime part to the soprano. She
loved to perform in many genres and she was the playful, warm character and her
beautiful voice was her best asset, the vehicle that would take her anywhere.
Mona Paulee
did not make many recordings and what is left to witness her beautiful and lovely
voice are practically only the Remington recordings which are to be cherished.
There is however a very rare recording on Club français du disque (CDF1)
of Haydn's 'Nelson Mass' (Missa in Angustiis) with Jonathan Sternberg conducting
the Vienna Opera Orchestra. The other singers are Theresa Stich-Randall, Rudolf
Schock, and Gottlob Frick. Rudolf
A. Bruil - September 3rd , 2004 The
website of the California State University, Los Angeles, has a short entry on
Mona Paulee:
"Mona Paulee (Emerita, Music) passed away in September,
1995. A mezzo-soprano with the Met during the 1940s and 1950s, she was often heard
in the Metropolitan Opera Saturday live broadcasts. She had performed in Europe
and throughout Central and South America. Paulee joined the faculty in 1972 and
retired in 1987. She is survived by her daughter, Lani, and two grandchildren."
The university offers a scholarship named after Mona Paulee.
Mona Paulee was
born October 4, 1912 in Edmonton, Canada. (C)
Rudolf A. Bruil. |
