Wolfgang Lesser

Wolfgang Lesser (31 May 1923 – 27 September 1999) was a German composer and music official of the GDR. Life and career Born in Breslau, Lesser, son of a merchant, attended the Realgymnasium in Berlin and then completed an apprenticeship as a metalworker. In 1938 he began studying music at the former Stern Conservatory in Berlin. Already in 1939 he emigrated as a Jew to London and worked in England as a varnisher and farmhand. The following year he was interned as Enemy alien on the Isle of Man. In 1942, he became a member of the Freie Deutsche Jugend and the Communist Party of Germany. Between 1943 and 1947, he was a member of the British Army. In 1947 he returned to Berlin, became a member of the SED and worked for the FDJ in various functions. In 1949 he attended the state party school of the SED. In 1951 he became a member of the Cultural Association of the GDR. From 1950 to 1954, Lesser studied at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” with Rudolf Wagner-Régeny, Hanns Eisler and Günter Kochan. From 1954 to 1961, he worked as a composer and teacher for the State Folk Art Ensemble of the GDR. Since 1961, he has been a freelance musician. From 1964 to 1968, he was Second Secretar