Michael Jary

Michael Jary (born Maksymilian Michał Jarczyk; 14 September 1906 in Laurahütte -Siemianowitz (today Siemianowice Śląskie) – 12 July 1988 in Munich) was a German composer of Polish origin.

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 Steyl Missionaries near Neisse (Nysa today), where he discovered his love of music. At the age of 18 he moved to the conservatory at Beuthen (Bytom today). He directed the church choir and started to write his first chamber music works that were transmitted on the 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 Staatliche Akademische Musikhochschule at Berlin, meanwhile he made money playing as a pianist at cafés or movies. In 1931 he received the Beethoven-prize of Berlin.

When Jarczyk 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-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.

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