HANS MOECKEL

Born: January 17th, 1921, Sankt-Gallen (Switzerland)

Died: October 6th, 1983, Zurich (Switzerland)

Nationality: Swiss

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

Hans Moeckel played saxophone and clarinet in various jazz ensembles in Sankt-Gallen before he studied the piano, music theory, and composition at the Zurich Conservatory. Upon his graduation, he became the conductor of the Sankt-Gallen Municipal Theatre. In 1947, he was contracted as an arranger by DRS (German-speaking Swiss broadcaster). In 1966, he succeeded Cédric Dumont as the conductor of the DRS orchestra, widely known as the Unterhaltungs-Orchester Beromünster. Moeckel had a penchant for brass-music and composed many pieces for wind band; moreover, he formed the Basel Radio Brass Band and conducted several brass bands, including the Basel Police Band. He wrote popular songs, film soundtracks, the music to radio dramas, and entire theatre musicals. In the last years of his life, Moeckel was a member of the teaching staff at the Zurich Conservatory.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Hans Moeckel conducted the 1967 Swiss entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, ‘Quel cœur vas-tu briser?’ The song has two different record arrangements, by Bernard Kesslair and Leo Petit. Partly due to the fact that Géraldine Gaulier's vocal performance was not the best on the night, this Swiss entry did not score a single point and finished last in the contest held in Vienna. Apart from his one international involvement, Moeckel was the musical director of several Swiss Eurovision finals - sometimes sharing the conducting burden with his colleague Peter Jacques -, the last one being in 1983.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1967 Vienna

Country – Switzerland

Song title – “Quel cœur vas-tu briser?”

Rendition – Géraldine Gaulier

Lyrics – Gérard Gray

Composition – Daniel Faure

Studio arrangements – Bernard Kesslair / Leo Petit

Live orchestration – Bernard Kesslair

Conductor – Hans Moeckel

Score – 17th place (0 votes)