Ludwig Koch

Great Lives

BBC

History, Documentary, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 29 September 2023

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The award-winning Sound Recordist and Musician, Chris Watson nominates his hero, Ludwig Koch. In 1889, German-born Koch was the first person ever to record birdsong (at the age of 8) onto a wax cylinder recorder, given to him by his father as a toy. Despite a promising baritone voice and being a very good violinist, the first world war put paid to Ludwig Koch's career as a musician and he began working for the German branch of EMI recording cityscapes, before going on to invent the ‘sound book', a nascent sort of multimedia that became very popular in Germany before the second world war. As a Jew and an outspoken critic of the Nazi regime, Koch fled Germany in 1936 for England, sadly leaving his many recordings behind. But his theatrical delivery, unique voice and the fact that, as Chris Watson notes, "He was not shy about his achievements", soon made him a household name in broadcasting here in the UK. Chris Watson is joined by emeritus professor Sean Street. Together and with the aid of archive, they marvel over the great lengths Koch went to to capture his 'performers'. Produced in Bristol by Ellie Richold

Transcript

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0:42.7	The continental victory in Warbla is a mimic, like our styling.
0:48.3	Once I used to see the same victory in Warbla day after day for some months,
0:54.4	and we became so friendly that he called me by my aggression aim.
0:59.6	I recorded him, and you can hear him call my name during his song.
1:05.0	Ludwig! Ludwig! Ludwig!
1:09.6	The continental Ictorine Warbla introducing our great life this week.
1:30.0	The pioneering sound recordist, Ludwig Koch,
1:33.8	and Koch, who was once as famous as David Attenborough,
1:37.3	is the nomination of another nature-loving sound man,
1:40.9	whose own work has been important to Sir David Attenborough's own achievements.
1:45.5	The award-winning field recordist, Chris Watson.
1:49.1	Chris, welcome to Great Lives. Isn't it funny how once one seems to have heard a word in a bird's call,
	...

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