André Heller

For the Brazilian volleyball player with the same name, see André Heller (volleyball).

André Heller, 2006

Franz André Heller (born March 22, 1947) is an Austrian artist, author, singer and actor.

Biography

Heller was born in Vienna into a wealthy Jewish family of sweets manufacturers ("Gustav & Wilhelm Heller"). His almost daily visits to the Café Hawelka were in his opinion a key element in the development of his literary orientation. It was in this coffeehouse that he met many men of letters including Friedrich Torberg, H. C. Artmann und occasionally Elias Canetti as well as Hans Weigel and Helmut Qualtinger, with whom he later on collaborated and performed. He took acting classes from Hans Weigel and his cohabitee Elfriede Ott.

Theatre, Radio, Television, Songs

Heller has been writing prose, poetry, and songs since 1964. He left school shortly before obtaining the Matura, (he went to a Jesuit boarding school). From 1965 to 1967 he was a moderately successful actor at various Viennese avant-garde theatres.

Public Figure

In 1967 Heller co-founded Hitradio Ö3, the ORF's then progressive pop music station, where he was one of the hosts of the daily Musicbox programme. That same year he recorded his first LP record with the laconic title Nr1 that lead to gaining a wider audience in Austria. Also released that year, was his second LP called Platte and subsequently his first play premiered entitled „King-Kong-King-Mayer-Mayer-Ling“ at Vienna Festival.

Chansonnier

As a poet songwriter his work spans across a period of more than 15 years and he is still one of the most diverse in the entire German-speaking world. Over time he has earned a strong reputation as a singer and songwriter. He has worked with international names such as Astor Piazzolla, Dino Saluzzi, Freddie Hubbard but also together with Austrian artists such as "Toni Stricker" Wolfgang Ambros and Helmut Qualtinger.  Heller's own poetry has been set to music many times. He has also sung texts by other authors as well. For instance, Catherine from 1970 was set to one of the first hits of Heller. The text came from the still largely unknown Reinhard Mey and the music of the Austro-Canadian Jack Grunsky With Werner Schneyder he created Viennese German songs translated from Jacques Brel as "Franz" (after the Brel title Jef). Using intimate memories of traumatic childhood experiences and insights into his life as well as his Catholic-Jewish origin he created songs with the title Angstlied (Verwunschen, 1980) Titles like Miruna, die Riesin von Göteborg (Verwunschen, 1980) are in turn influenced by the Viennese school of fantastic realism. Das Lied vom idealen Park (Narrenlieder 1985) or as a duet with Wolfgang Ambros introduced the Bob Dylan cover Für immer jung (Stimmenhören, 1983) are now considered classic titles of Austro-pop. In 1983 he also appeared on Stimmenhören with the title of the song: Erhebet euch Geliebte that became one of the "hymns" of the peace movement in the early 1980s. Since the early 1980s he turned to increasingly to spectacular productions, installations and performative actions until 1982 where his successful concert career came to close. In 1985 the album Narrenlieder was released but this was not as successful his previous hits. Between 1967 and 1985 he published a total of fourteen LPs, twelve of those were gold records and earned him seven times platinum. In 1991, he wrote, looking back on this period:

"I started in 1967, to put my poems together using my voice on record and in recitals before millions of people. This was following the example of Bob Dylan's first meaningful and self-published poetry in the Lyrikbändchen or by Suhrkamp publishing. 1982, was certainly the zenith of that career, where I had to stop my concerts. I realized at this point it was spoiled for me because at 8pm I had to act gifted in front of a few thousand listeners just because they had paid for admission”. André Heller in the liner notes of Kritischen Gesamtausgabe 1967-1991

However, on his 60th Birthday Andre Heller gave a concert in April 2007 at the Viennese Radiokulturhaus, after twenty-five years of absence from the stage in a recital entitled “Konzert für mich“ (Concert for me)

Between 1968 and 1983 Heller recorded 15 albums as singer of his own texts and in part of his own compositions. He was on the road with 9 international concert tours, and was the host and entertainer in 12 evening-filling TV shows.

Cultural Manager

Heller was appointed Artistic Director of the Artistic and Cultural Programme that ran parallel to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. His company Artevent was also responsible for the successful Presentation of the Germany bid for the FIFA 2006 World Cup project. He designed the final presentation in 2000 for the successful West German application and in 2003 designed a Fußball-Globus that toured through Germany and became the “Architectural Forerunner of the World Cup” from Germany. Among many other things Heller was the inventor of the Football World Cup's official motto Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden “A Time to Make Friends”

Actor

From 1976 until 1981, André Heller played major roles in various international movies, this included roles in Hans-Jürgen Syberberg’s Hitler: A Film from Germany, Radu Gabrea’s Fürchte Dich nicht, Jakob and Doktor Faustus by Johannes Schaaf.

Publications

Heller has received numerous international awards. He has to date written 14 printed publications, among them collections of stories Die Ernte der Schlaflosigkeit in Wien, Auf und Davon, Schlamassel, Als ich ein Hund war, the novel Schattentaucher, the collection of poems Sitzt ana und glaubt, er is zwa (together with Helmut Qualtinger), as well as two picture books Jagmandir – Traum und Wirklichkeit and Die Zaubergärten des André Heller. 21 TV documentaries have been produced about Heller's projects, productions and plans. These were done by the likes of Werner Herzog, H.J. Syberberg, and Elsa Klensch, among others.

Lately, in 2006—thanks to the initiative of Chris Gelbmann—he released his last album called Ruf und Echo. The 3 CD compendium is the first release in the past 20 years, containing new songs and interpretations of old hits by artists like Brian Eno, Xavier Naidoo, Thomas D. The Walkabouts.

André Heller lives in Vienna and in Gardone Riviera, Lombardy, and travels the world.

Selected events and projects

• KING-KONG-KING-MAYER-MAYER-LING — ein Stück Theater, Opening premiere of the Vienna Festival, Austria
• MENSCHEN AM ZENTRAL, Documentary about life at Vienna's Central Cemetery
• FLIC FLAC, a poetic variety show, tour through Europe
• TEATRO DE FOGO, in Lisbon, Portugal
• FEUERTHEATER, in front of the Berlin Reichstag, Germany
• MISSTRAUE DER IDYLLE, Floral picture for the International Garden Show at Berlin, Germany
• BEGNADETE KÖRPER, Great masters of the acrobatics schools in Anhui and Beijing, tour through Europe. Heller was the first non-Chinese artist to be allowed to work with Chinese master acrobats and to present their refined skills to the West.
• SALUT FÜR OLGA, a homage to the last masters of the dying art of variety shows, tour through Europe
• FLYING SCULPTURES, above 20 cities in Europe, 32 cities in America, and 7 cities in Asia
• LUNA LUNA, a poetic amusement park and a traveling territory of contemporary art
• LACHEN MACHEN, a clown parade, tour through Europe
• GIARDINO BOTANICO, Fondazione André Heller in Gardone Riviera, Italy
• BODY AND SOUL, a stage show with musicians, singers, dancers, and grotesque comedy artists from Harlem, Mubale, and New Orleans. New York and tour through Europe.
• WINTERGARTEN VARIETÉ, Tour through Europe
• CHINESE NATIONAL CIRCUS, World tour
• JAGMANDIR, The eccentric private theater of the Maharana of Udaipur, India
• SINKING GIANT, Floral sculpture with fountain in the park of Schoenbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
• WONDERHOUSE, on Broadway, New York, USA
• BAMBOO MAN, a 55-meter tall floating sculpture in Hong Kong harbor
• WINTERGARTEN VARIETÉ, Together with Bernhard Paul, inauguration of the theatre-building in Berlin, Germany
• SEIN UND SCHEIN, at the Vienna Burgtheater, Austria
• MAGNETEN, Charismatic Roma and Sinti masters of the world-embracing gypsy culture, tour through Europe
• SWAROVSKI CRYSTAL WORLDS, Landscape as well as a series of subterranean wonder chambers for Swarovski, in Wattens, Tyrol, Austria
• BOAT OF SALT, on the Dead Sea in Israel
• THE MUTE PROPHET, Light sculpture, Ait Ben Haddou in Morocco
• YUMÉ — flight through dreams, a Japanese kaleidoscope, Tokyo and tour through Europe
• METEORIT, a place of amazement, wonder chambers on the Energy theme for the Rheinisch-Westfälische Elektrizitätswerk, Essen, Germany
• BROCKHAUS 2000, Design of the 24-volume deluxe edition of this encyclopedia
• VOICES OF GOD, an event with spiritual singers, musicians, and dancers from 12 cultures, Marrakech, Morocco
• EARTH SPIRIT, Design of the WWF Pavilion for the EXPO 2000, Hanover, Germany
• WORLD CUP BIDDING, Production of the successful final bid of the German Football Association for the World Cup 2006, Zurich, Switzerland
• BLIND SPOT, Dokumentary about Hitler’s Secretary, Audience award Berlinale Filmfestival 2002, Germany
• IN THE HEART OF LIGHT — NIGHT OF THE PRIMA DONNAS, A poetic documentation of a myth conceived and produced by André Heller and adapted for the screen by Pepe Danquart
• FOREBODING/LA VOIX HUMAINE, The "Théâtre du Châtelet" in Paris was the venue for the staging of "Anticipation / La Voix Humaine", a cooperation between André Heller and Jessye Norman in October 2002.
• JESSYE NORMAN', a movie by André Heller and Othmar Schmiderer
• FOOTBALL-GLOBE, the architectural herald to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany; one tour in Germany, one tour internationally (Tokyo, Paris, Milan, Zurich)
• AFRIKA! AFRIKA!, African music, dance and acrobat show (performing 2005 – at least 2009)
• MAGNIFICO, Horse Show (since Feb 2011)

Awards

• 2004 Amadeus Austrian Music Award for Ruf und Echo

See also

• Giardino Botanico Fondazione André Heller

External links

• André Heller in the German National Library catalogue (German)
• www.andreheller.com, official website
• André Heller at the Internet Movie Database
• André-Heller Fan-page (Archived 2009-10-25)
• Artevent — Viennese company headed by André Heller for the realisation of all kinds of art projects