Walter Eilers

Walter Eilers was born on 12 January 1896 in Hamburg (Germany). He was not born into a musical family - his father was a baker, his mother a housewife - but it seems he showed musical interest and talent. After school Walter Eilers therefore decided to study music, first at the university of Hamburg, later in Berlin.

After his studies Walter Eilers first worked as a musician in Damme where he also met his future wife. But he soon was offered a position as a kapellmeister at a venue at the St. Pauli Piers in Hamburg. He remained in this position until his retirement.

Beside his work as a kapellmeister Walter Eilers also composed light music works like waltzes, serenades or foxtrots but also larger works like operettas. Many of them were premiered at the Städtische Bühnen Münster and some of his works were published by Sikorski or other houses.
The "Tonkünstler-Lexikon" by Frank & Altmann from 1936 reports that Walter Eilers also used the pseudonyms "John Walter" and "Eilers-Welter".
Walter Eilers died on 30 March 1972 in Hamburg (Germany).

In my possession is a small collection of autograph musical manuscripts by Walter Eilers. This collection include:

• concert waltz "Musenkinder"
  My archive contains the autograph full score of the composition scored for large orchestra as well nearly all parts. I also own the autograph full score of the version for small orchestra of this composition.
• Meine Frau, der Lausbub
  Schwankoperette in 3 Akten (roughly translated: droll story operetta in 3 parts), text by Konny Thoss and Bernhard Müller. Composed around 1945.
  My archive contains a piano reduction of the complete operetta, originally published through Capitol Verlag in Berlin, later distributed through Bühnenverlag Julius Feuchtinger and finally through Efte-Verlag.
  In addition there are libretti for the non-singing parts "Benno" and "Adele".
  The archive also contains instrumental parts for the "Paso doble" from the operetta as well as some, but not all parts for the complete operetta.
• Geliebte Dorrit
  Operetta in 3 acts on a text by Peter A. Horn. The autograph piano reduction, all parts of the orchestral score as well as the libretto were kindly donated to me from the relatives of Walter Eilers. The gift also included individual scores for some songs from the operetta.
• Malayische Träume
  My archive contains two scenes from the musical in autograph full score, these are the scenes 5 and 6. In addition I own the complete part for violin II in copy and several autograph sketches and incomplete parts.
• Tabu, ein vergebliches Ständchen
  The self-published score of this song scored for voice and piano.
• several incomplete manuscripts that belong to an unknown operetta or opera. It includes the role names: Isa, Gabriele, Rudolf, Reckling, Wotan, Paul, Käte.

Below one can find the full score for the concert waltz "Musenkinder" in the version for small orchestra:

I have also typeset the song "Einmal erblühet wie ein erster Frühlingstag" for voice and piano. The song is part of the operetta "Geliebte Dorrit":

Work catalogue of Walter Eilers

Due to the fact that there is little known about Walter Eilers, I would like to present here a work catalogue with all the compositions I could trace in books and libraries:

• Tabu, ein vergebliches Ständchen, song for light orchestra (1937)
• Märchen aus Wien, song for light orchestra (1937)
• Menuett in D (1937)
• Sei mein: Hast du schon ein Nachtquartier? (1938)
• Serenade for orchestra "Zärtliche Begegnung" (1940)
• operetta "Meine Frau, der Lausbub" (~1945)
• musical "Malayische Träume" (1951)
• Katz und Maus (1952)
• Concert waltz "Musenkinder", for orchestra (~1957)
• Ich such ne Kleine
• New York - Berlin
• operetta "Geliebte Dorrit"
• Die schönen Frauen von Chile