James Last collection: “Happy Sound” is coming to the University of Freiburg

“The University will not only catalogue and archive James Last’s musical legacy for the long term, but also make it accessible to students, teachers and researchers at the university, the University of Music in Freiburg and beyond.”

Dr. Knut Holtsträter

Research assistant and senior academic advisor at the ZPKM, University of Freiburg

“James Last was known worldwide for his catchy arrangements and what he called his “happy sound.” It is therefore a great asset for the University of Freiburg to be entrusted with his artistic estate, which is a formative part of international music history,’ says Prof. Dr Sylvia Paletschek, Vice-Rector for University Culture at the University of Freiburg. She accepted the collection together with Christina Leib, Chancellor at the University of Freiburg. “The University will not only catalogue and archive James Last’s musical legacy for the long term, but also make it accessible to students, teachers and researchers at the university, the University of Music in Freiburg and beyond,” says Dr Knut Holtsträter, research assistant and senior academic advisor at the ZPKM. “We want to enable them to incorporate these oftentimes unique historical documents into their work as primary sources.”

The aim: To ensure openness to diverse research questions

That is why the University of Freiburg has taken over the entire collection. “Although he was very successful internationally and managed, for example, to incorporate beat and rock music into his orchestral sound, which thrilled generations worldwide and enjoyed great international success, James Last has not yet been researched academically. Accordingly, as an archive, we want to ensure openness so that as many diverse research questions as possible can be asked and answered about the material of this entertainment artist,” says Holtsträter.

Regarding the decision of the community of heirs to hand over the collection to the University of Freiburg, Prof. Dr. Dr. Michael Fischer, Managing Director at the ZPKM, explains: “The Center for Popular Culture and Music is one of the leading research institutes in the field of popular music in Europe. One of its unique features is the combination of collection and research. It was this unique feature in particular that prompted the Last family to donate their collection to the University of Freiburg. It was important to the community of heirs that the collection be used for scientific purposes.”

The programme of the interdisciplinary conference “Non-Stop Dancing to Melodies for Millions – Dance and Entertainment Orchestras in Germany from the Post-War Period to the Present” provides a glimpse of topics that could potentially be addressed by the ZPKM. In their talks, representatives from research and practice provided insights into the work of dance and entertainment orchestras. At the same time, they drew parallels between musical greats such as James Last, Willy Berking and Theo Schumann and the music ensembles of WDR and ORF. In addition, members of current ensembles, such as the SWR Big Band and the Rundfunk-Tanzorchester Ehrenfeld, spoke as well.