Peter Sandloff

Sandloff often conducted the recordings of his musical compositions himself. The broad scope of his engagements is impressive, ranging from Hans Cürlis’ cultural films to entertainment productions, such as Harald Reinl’s ‘Im Stahlnetz des Dr. Mabuse’ (1961) and Wolfgang Schleif’s ‘Eheinstitut Aurora’ (1962). They also include Peter Pewas’ ambitious coming-of-age noir film ‘Viele kamen vorbei’ (1956, Bundesfilmpreis [German Film Award]) and the satire ‘Wir Kellerkinder’ with Wolfgang Neuss, brought to the screen in 1960 by director Wolfgang Bellenbaum (working under the name Jochen Wiedermann). Musical scores and/or magnetic sound tapes are preserved among the holdings for all of the works mentioned. Sandloff collaborated with the director Falk Harnack on a radio play (‘Androklus und der Löwe’, Hessischer Rundfunk (hr), 1972) and several television productions. Probably the most well-known among these was the adaptation of Hans Fallada’s novel, ‘Jeder stirbt für sich allein’ (1962), about anti-Nazi resistance – with its virtually physically embracing, evocative music. The estate, a gift from Sandloff’s two daughters in 2019, is moderate in size. It nevertheless amply traces his oeuvre using “grey literature”, press reviews, and production documents such as musical scores, drafts and work-in-progress audio recordings. Writings on music theory and music education enrich it. Other biographic materials represent Sandloff’s private life, including his mother’s personal papers and those of his wife Ilse Friedrich [Sandloff], who first worked as a dancer and later ran a ballet school in West Berlin. (Text: Gerrit Thies)