{{Short description|German composer (1906–1988)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | image_size = | name = Michael Jary | image = | birth_name = Maximilian Michael Andreas Jarczyk | birth_date = 24 September 1906 | birth_place = [[Laurahütte]], [[Upper Silesia]], [[German Empire]] | death_date = 12 July 1988 | death_place = [[Munich]], [[Bavaria]], [[West Germany]] | other_names = | occupation = Composer | years_active = 1936–1970 (film) }} '''Michael Jary''' ('''Maximilian Michael Andreas Jarczyk'''; 24 September 1906<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pBoNAQAAMAAJ|title=Who's who in Germany|year=1972}}</ref> &ndash; 12 July 1988) was a German composer who was born in Laurahütte, [[Siemianowice Śląskie|Siemianowitz]] and died in [[Munich]].

== Early years == Jary's father worked at the Königshütte ([[Chorzów]] today) iron works and his mother was a tailor. He planned to become a missionary and went to school at the monastery of the [[Divine Word Missionaries|Steyl Missionaries]] near [[Neisse (town)|Neisse (Nysa today)]], where he discovered his love of music. At the age of 18 he moved to the conservatory at [[Bytom|Beuthen (Bytom today)]]. He conducted the church choir and started to write his first [[chamber music]] works that were transmitted on the [[Gliwice Radio Tower|radio Gliwice]]. The city theatre of Neisse and [[Plauen]] gave him a position as a second concert master.

In 1929 Jary was accepted at the [[Berlin University of the Arts|Staatliche Akademische Musikhochschule]] at [[Berlin]], meanwhile he made money playing as a pianist at cafés or movies. In 1931 he received the [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]-prize of Berlin.

== During the Nazi years == When Jary delivered his graduation concert on 8 February 1933, he was bullied by members of the [[Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur]]. [[Paul Graener]], the new director of the ''Stern’sches Konservatorium'' denigrated his concert as "the cultural bolshevistic musical stammering of a Polish Jew". Jarczyk had to go underground for some time and used the pseudonyms "Jackie Leeds" for arrangements and "Max Jantzen" for chansons. Recognizing that his name was a hindrance to his career, he changed it to Michael Jary.

Symphonic music was his strength. But after he composed his first musical score for a movie, ''Die große und die kleine Welt'', he quickly became a cult favourite among professional musicians. The possibilities of multiple track recording caught his interest. [[Swing music|Swing]]-arrangements and [[Jazz]] were part of his repertoire in spite of governmental diktats. Among other projects he composed a cyclus of musical [[zodiac]] interpretations. He became an expert in jazz and swing during the thirties.

In 1938 he had his first popular music hit, ''Roter Mohn''. As the director of the Szymanowski-Gedächtniskonzertes in Berlin he was invited by [[Ernest Ansermet]] to [[Geneva]]. However, the Nazi authorities denied him an exit visa. Forced to stay in Germany, he wrote, often with the lyricist [[Bruno Balz]], songs for movies that became [[Hit single|hits]], including: ''[[Ich weiss, es wird einmal ein Wunder geschehen|Ich weiß, es wird einmal ein Wunder geschehen]]'' and ''Davon geht die Welt nicht unter''.<ref>[http://ingeb.org/Lieder/wennmalm.html mp3 with text]</ref>

== After WWII == [[File:Gedenktafel Michael Jary.jpg|thumb|right]] Shortly before the end of World War II Jary had founded his own ensemble. Just 19 days after the capitulation his group became the basis for the new ''[[Berliner Rundfunk|Radio Berlin]] Tanzorchester'' (RBT) in East Berlin. He engaged among others [[Ilse Werner]] and [[Bully Buhlan]].<ref>Axel Jockwer, Unterhaltungsmusik im 3. Reich. Diss. Konstanz 2004 http://w3.ub.uni-konstanz.de/v13/volltexte/2005/1474//pdf/Jockwer.pdf</ref>

In 1948 he created his own [[production company]], ''Michael Jary-Produktion'', and maintained an office during the fifties in New York. He would have liked to have written musical scores for revue films as he had done in 1943 for the movie ''Karneval der Liebe''. In 1949 he moved to Hamburg, and Jary was very successful as [[film score]] followed film score including ''„Leise rauscht es am Missouri“'', ''„Das machen nur die Beine von Dolores“'', ''„Mäki-Boogie“'', ''„Heut' liegt was in der Luft“'' and others. These songs were interpreted by artists such as [[Zarah Leander]], [[Rosita Serrano]], [[Evelyn Künneke]], [[Gerhard Wendland]], [[Heinz Rühmann]], and [[Hans Albers]].

By the end of the fifties, „Mäki“, as he was called by his friends, restricted his output and shunned cheap movies. For the [[1960 Eurovision Song Contest|Eurovision Song Contest]] in 1960 he composed ''„Wir wollen niemals auseinandergehn“'' for [[Heidi Brühl]]. It wasn't selected to represent Germany, but it went to the top of the German charts, and today it is one of the greatest successes of the history of the German [[Schlager]].

After this personal victory Jary returned to his roots. He composed the musical ''Nicole'', that was first shown in [[Nürnberg]] in 1963 and would be celebrated later in Eastern Europe. He settled in his final domicile in Switzerland above the [[Lake of Lugano]]. He suffered from three heart attacks in 1973.

Michael Jary died on 12 July 1988 in Munich. His grave is in the [[Ohlsdorf Cemetery|Friedhof Ohlsdorf]] in Hamburg. His brother [[Herbert Jarczyk]] was also a noted composer of film scores.

== Selected filmography == {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * ''[[Game on Board]]'' (1936) * ''[[Adventure in Warsaw]]'' (1937) * ''[[A Diplomatic Wife]]'' (1937) * ''[[All Lies (film)|All Lies]]'' (1938) * ''[[Bachelor's Paradise]]'' (1939) * ''[[Men Are That Way]]'' (1939) * ''[[The Leghorn Hat]]'' (1939) * ''[[Counterfeiters (1940 film)|Counterfeiters]]'' (1940) * ''[[Two Worlds (1940 film)|Two Worlds]]'' (1940) * ''[[Goodbye, Franziska (1941 film)|Goodbye, Franziska]]'' (1941) * ''[[The Great Love (1942 film)|The Great Love]]'' (1942) * ''[[The Big Game (1942 film)|The Big Game]]'' (1942) * ''[[Melody of a Great City]]'' (1943) * ''[[Beloved Darling]]'' (1943) * ''[[Carnival of Love]]'' (1943) * ''[[Gabriele Dambrone]]'' (1943) * ''[[A Man With Principles?]]'' (1943) * ''[[Mask in Blue (1943 film)|Mask in Blue]]'' (1943) * ''[[Melusine (film)|Melusine]]'' (1944) * ''[[That Was My Life (film)|That Was My Life]]'' (1944) * ''[[A Man Like Maximilian]]'' (1945) * ''[[And If We Should Meet Again]]'' (1947) * ''[[Street Acquaintances (1948 film)|Street Acquaintances]]'' (1948) * ''[[Dangerous Guests]]'' (1949) * ''[[Third from the Right]]'' (1950) * ''[[The Man in Search of Himself]]'' (1950) * ''[[The Allure of Danger]]'' (1950) * ''[[Abundance of Life]]'' (1950) * ''[[Gabriela (1950 film)|Gabriela]]'' (1950) * ''[[You Have to be Beautiful]]'' (1951) * ''[[Maya of the Seven Veils]]'' (1951) * ''[[Dance Into Happiness (1951 film)|Dance Into Happiness]]'' (1951) * ''[[Toxi]]'' (1952) * ''[[The Chaste Libertine]]'' (1952) * ''[[Queen of the Arena]]'' (1952) * ''[[The Colourful Dream]]'' (1952) * ''[[The Thief of Bagdad (1952 film)|The Thief of Bagdad]]'' (1952) * ''[[Under the Thousand Lanterns]]'' (1952) * ''[[Mikosch Comes In (1952 film)|Mikosch Comes In]]'' (1952) * ''[[Hit Parade (1953 film)|Hit Parade]]'' (1953) * ''[[Secretly Still and Quiet]]'' (1953) * ''[[Not Afraid of Big Animals]]'' (1953) * ''[[The Flower of Hawaii (1953 film)|The Flower of Hawaii]]'' (1953) * ''[[Columbus Discovers Kraehwinkel]]'' (1954) * ''[[The Big Star Parade]]'' (1954) * ''[[The Telephone Operator (1954 film)|The Telephone Operator]]'' (1954) * ''[[Bandits of the Autobahn]]'' (1955) * ''[[Father's Day (1955 film)|Father's Day]]'' (1955) * ''[[How Do I Become a Film Star?]]'' (1955) * ''[[Secrets of the City]]'' (1955) * ''[[Three Days Confined to Barracks (1955 film)|Three Days Confined to Barracks]]'' (1955) * ''[[The Stolen Trousers]]'' (1956) * ''[[The Zurich Engagement]]'' (1957) * ''[[The Legs of Dolores]]'' (1957) * ''[[At the Green Cockatoo by Night]]'' (1957) * ''[[The Heart of St. Pauli]]'' (1957) * ''[[Lilli (1958 film)|Lilli]]'' (1958) * ''[[My Husband, the Economic Miracle]]'' (1961) * ''[[Pichler's Books Are Not in Order]]'' (1961) {{div col end}}

== References == The beginning of this article is based on the corresponding article of the [[:de:Michael Jary|German Wikipedia from 31 March 2008]] {{reflist}}

== External links == *{{DNB portal|119130785|TYP=}} *http://www.michaeljary.de *{{IMDb name|0419135}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jary, Michael}} [[Category:1906 births]] [[Category:1988 deaths]] [[Category:German film score composers]] [[Category:People from Siemianowice Śląskie]] [[Category:Musicians from the Province of Silesia]] [[Category:Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]] [[Category:20th-century German composers]] [[Category:20th-century German male composers]] [[Category:Burials at the Ohlsdorf Cemetery]] [[Category:German male film score composers]]