Gerhard Steinke

Gerhard Steinke (born 1927) is a sound engineer.

He studied acoustics in Dresden, Germany. He began his career at Radio Dresden as a sound engineer in 1947. In 1953 he joined the Berlin's Radio and Television Research Centre (RFZ), where he established a laboratory for acoustical-musical boundary problems in broadcasting. In 1956, he set up the first subjective listening test group to assess sound recordings, studios and impairments in the broadcasting chain. This concept and the associated findings are included in various international standards (OIRT, ITU-R, and EBU) and documents (SSF, AES) on listening tests and test rooms.

Gerhard Steinke lectured sound technology and electronic music at Berlin's University of Music in the Tonmeister discipline for 27 years. For his work in the field of standards he received the Honorary Golden Medal of the OIRT and was awarded the Bèkesy Medal for his contributions to audio by the Hungarian Acoustical Society. He is a life Fellow and Gold medal recipient of the Audio Engineering Society (AES).

Biography

Born 12.8.1927 in Dresden, Gerhard Steinke is engaged nearly 80 years in the Telecommuni-cation field and is fighting for the "good sound", the highest technical audio signal quality, with sound broadcasting, television and sound reinforcement systems.

In 1947 he started his career in the area of Audio Technology with the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Broadcasting Organization, Radio Dresden, as sound engineer. His recorded productions with the famous Dresden Orchestras, Staatskapelle Dresden and Dresden Philharmony, together with great opera soloists, are republished as DVD in the last years (www.rundfunkschätze.de).

1949 - 53 he studied Electro-Acoustics at the Technical University in Dresden. Then he went to the Research Center of Radio and Television (RFZ) of Deutsche Post (German Post), Berlin-Adlershof, beginning as research and development engineer for magnetic recording.

From 1956 – 1070 working as the head of a new "Laboratory of Acoustico-Musical Boundary Problems" in Broadcasting he established an “Experimental Electronic Music Studio” with the development of a new Subharmonic Hybrid Synthesizer, the “ Subharchord”, (1962) for radio, film and television applications, which also was exported to broadcasting organizations in Czechoslovakia and Norway.

1960 he became the head of a complex projecting group (Telecommunication, Broadcasting/Television, Industry) and was responsible for the introduction of the Stereophony Broadcasting in Eastern Germany, with the beginning in 1963.

From 1956 in his laboratory intensively was studied also the subjective-acoustical evaluation of the audio transmission quality and the requirements of reproduction and listening conditions. At the first time he could enforce the introduction of international listening groups with the International Broadcasting and Television Organization OIRT.

In the years 1956–1958 beside his task as the head of the laboratory he especially attended sound engineers and sound designers (Tonmeisters) as well as the artists of the new studio production complex B in the Funkhaus Berlin Nalepastrasse, with experimental recordings and discussions on the room-acoustical properties depending on the recording technologies etc.

In 1971 he became the director of the Research and Development Department of Sound and Video System Technology of RFZ and was responsible for the whole sound and video development and from 1973 especially for the sound studio technology in East Germany. Together with co-inventors he developed the "Delta Stereophony System", the first true directional and distance sound reinforcement system for large halls and television productions as well as a home processor for multi-channel sound. This system is used also nowadays in large areas and halls in and outside the country (Berlin, Chemnitz, Stade, Prag, Moscow (SU), Bregenz (A), Mörbisch (A), England, USA etc.). Furthermore, also the multichannel stereo ambio-phony (the first four-channel system), and automatic sound studio technical equipment were developed under his heading in this research centre.

1987 he was sent for several months in order of the UN as expert/ITU-Consultant to India, in the radio stations of New Delhi, Kashmir (Srinagar), Calcutta and Bombay. Here with the All-Union-Broadcasting and Television, he elaborated in extensive documentations proposals and recommendations for the changeg from analogous to digital broadcasting.

He moved to the Deutsche Telekom in 1990, where he set up the research and development department for new sound transmission systems DAB, Multichannel sound etc., as head of this group, up to his retirement in 1992. From this time he is working as Senior Audio Consultant for various institutions.

Steinke was from 1955 up to 1992 very active engaged in international standardization bodies; there he was more than 12 years the president of Study Group 2 (Sound Technology/Recording) in the OIRT and held up to 1992 over 18 years the Chairmanship of the Working Party 10-C (Audio/Digital) of the CCIR/ITU-R. There he was engaged since 1965 especially for the multichannel techniques and correct quality evaluation. He worked intensively with the first international multichannel standard ITU-R BS 775 in the projection group inserted by him.

Actively joined with the Verband Deutscher Tonmeister (VDT) since 1954 and since 1963 with the international Audio Engineering Society (AES) where he was awarded in 1986 with the AES Fellowship and elected for the period 1991-1993 as AES Vice President Europe. Here he initiated the inauguration of new AES sections in the Eastern European countries.

In the VDT he worked with the Planning Group of the Tonmeister Conventions and as Co-Founder of the 1996 established Surround Sound Forum“, where he was responsible for the standardization and problems of the reproduction and recording technology.

He now gives papers and lectures on Surround-Sound and Electronic Sound Art at seminars of Audio institutions, Meetings at Universities etc., also in abroad.

At the High School of Music, Berlin, he supported the training of Tonmeisters by lectures and practical studies from 1956 up to 1983 in the field of Tonstudiotechnik (Sound Studio Technology) and Elektronische Klangerzeugung (Electronic Music and Sound Art Production).

He published more than 450 papers, books and lectures as well as patents in the audio field, nowadays as free-lancer Audio-Consultant and journalist.

A collection of his individual papers can be found in his book from 2012: “Mit den Ohren sehen – mit den Augen hören“. (“Seeing with the ears – listening with the eyes“- Ways to the optimum listening experience. Contributions to the “Art of Listening”, acoustic and audio technology). Kopie & Druck Adlershof, 12489 Berlin.

In another book, written together with co-author Gisela Herzog, „Der Raum ist das Kleid der Musik“ ("The space is the robe of music"), all in the broadcasting house "Funkhaus Berlin" realized room-acoustical characteristics of the recording halls, radio-play studios and other concert halls are described in detail. (published with kopie-druck-adlershof).

For his successful international work in the field of standardization he has got 1984 the Honaray Medal of Organisation International Radiodiffusion et Television (OIRT); and the AES Hungarian Section with the Hungarian Acousti-cal Society awarded him 1992 for his total work in the field of Acoustics the Bèkesy-Medal.

At the 122.A.E.S Convention in Vienna, May 2007, the Audio Engineering Society awarded him the Golden Honorary Medal:^[1]

“… for outstanding contributions to audio engineering, sustained over 60 years in the areas of radio and television broadcasting, studio acoustics, sound reinforcement, multichannel sound and international standardization of audio.” He was especially appreciated for his Richard Heyser Memorial-Lecture "What is needed to have the Audio Eldorado at home?" at that Vienna Convention.

For his activities over long years in the VDT (Verband Deutscher Tonmeister) and the Surround Sound Forum he was awarded in 2007 with the Honorary Medal at the 2. International Symposium of the VDT in Ludwigsburg. Reference: Steinke, G., Herzog, G., Der Raum ist das Kleid der Musik, 2. Ed. 2013, Berlin, Kopie and Druck-Adlershof (info@kopie-druck-adlershof.de)

References

• "HEYSER LECTURE". Audio Engineering Society. 2007-04-20. Retrieved 2011-05-10.