The German Way: Life in Austria, Germany, Switzerland

CONTENTS > FAMOUS PEOPLE > MAX RAABE > MAX RAABE in RENO

“Rail thin, impeccably tuxedoed, his fair haired slicked back, Mr. Raabe comes across as a wised-up adult choirboy with a slightly seductive glint in his eye.”

  — Anthony Tommasini, in the New York Times (Nov. 5, 2007)
 

Biography

Since he founded das Palast Orchester with some friends in 1986, Max Raabe has gradually gained fame in Germany and abroad with his humorous and anachronistic interpretations of songs from the 1920s.

Max Raabe
Max Raabe
PHOTO: www.palast-orchester.de
Today Max Raabe and his 12-member Palast Orchester (Palace Orchestra) tour all around the world, including Europe, the USA, Israel and Asia. Raabe (RAAH-buh) sings his timeless songs – in German and English – to audiences that appreciate good music, even if it’s been over 80 years since many of these songs were first performed. They also appreciate his wry, straight-faced humor.

In January 2011 he released the album “Küssen kann man nicht alleine,” (You can’t kiss by yourself) which features original songs that he composed in the 1920s style along with Annette Humpe (ich + ich). It was his 27th album since the first in 1987 (“Die Männer sind schon die Liebe wert” - Men are worth loving).

Beginnings
Max Raabe was born on December 12, 1962 in the German town of Lünen (north of Dortmund in the northwestern state of North Rhine-Westphalia). He grew up on a farm. After attending local schools, he attended a Catholic boarding school (Clemens-Hofbauer-Kolleg) in Bad Driburg in the eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, where he learned Latin and Greek and participated in the school choir.

Early in his school years he developed a love of music, particularly Wagner and Beethoven. Later he found some old 78 rpm shellac records by the Comedian Harmonists in his parents’ record collection. The first song he discovered there was “Ich bin verrückt nach Hilde” (“I’m crazy about Hilde”). It was the beginning of his love affair with the classic music of the German Weimar era.

Off to Berlin
In 1982, then 20 years old, Raabe moved to Berlin. There he worked part-time in order to finance singing lessons to perfect a baritone voice that can also range from falsetto to bass. Beginning in 1988, Raabe attended the Berlin University of the Arts (Hochschule der Künste), graduating in 1995 as a state-certified opera baritone (staatlich geprüfter Opernsänger, Bariton). In an April 2010 interview with DER SPIEGEL, he claimed he finished his studies just to make his mother happy.

Max Raabe - Heute Nacht DVD
The "Heute Nacht" DVD. See below.
Following a 1992 hit recording (“Kein Schwein ruft mich an”) and an appearance in the 1994 German film Der bewegte Mann (US title: Maybe, Maybe Not), Raabe and his Palast Orchester began to reach a wider audience. Today he and the orchestra tour the world, performing original compositions and 1920s classics from New York to Budapest. (In April 2011 he toured in the US, including an appearance in my hometown of Reno.) Raabe has also played minor roles in German film productions and has performed on the German stage.

DVDs

  • Max Raabe in Concert (1) - Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester live in Berlin. This DVD features a February 2009 performance in Berlin’s Admiralspalast theater. PBS recently showed parts of this performance on US TV. Creative director for the project was Michael Ballhaus. (155 minutes)
    Buy it from Amazon.com: Heute Nacht oder nie (DVD)

  • Max Raabe in Concert (2) - Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester live in Berlin in 2007. This DVD was filmed at a packed outdoor amphitheater (the Waldbühne) before 20,000 Berliners.
    Buy it from Amazon.com: Dance & Film Music of 1920s (DVD)

CDs

Max Raabe at Carnegie Hall - A 2-disc set with Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester. This CD features a live performance of Max Raabe & Palast Orchester at Carnegie Hall in New York (November 2007).
Buy it from Amazon.com: Heute Nacht oder nie (2-CD set)

"Kein Schwein ruft mich an" - A 3-disc set of the "Best of Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester." This CD features 18 songs by Raabe.
Buy it from Amazon.com: "Kein Schwein ruft mich an" (boxed CD set)

"Wochenend und Sonnenschein" - 14 songs in German and English performed by Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester.
Buy it from Amazon.com: "Wochenend und Sonnenschein" (CD)

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