Franz Mittler (April 14, 1893 in Vienna – December 28, 1970 in

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) was an

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n (and later on an

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)

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, musician, and

humorist A humorist is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking. A raconteur is one who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way. Henri Bergson writes that a humorist's work grows from viewing the morals of society ...

Life and work

Mittler was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. His maternal grandmother financed his earliest musical education which started out under Mr. Deutsch and later Oscar Stock (

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

). His first public performance took place in 1902 when he performed the Schubert Sonatina in D D. 384 with the then 7-year-old

Clara Haskil Clara Haskil (7 January 1895 – 7 December 1960) was a Romanian classical pianist, renowned as an interpreter of the classical and early romantic repertoire. She was particularly noted for her performances and recordings of Mozart. She was als ...

. In 1904 he moved from the violin to the pursuit of piano where his teacher became

Theodor Leschetizky Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky; ; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915) was a Polish pianist, professor, and composer active in Austria-Hungary. He was born in Landshut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a crown land ...

. He studied theory with Joseph Labor (also teacher of Julius Bittner and

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

), later composition with

Richard Heuberger Richard Franz Joseph Heuberger (18 June 1850 in Graz, Austria – 28 October 1914 in Vienna, Austria) was an Austrian composer of operas and operettas, a music critic, and teacher. Heuberger was born in Graz, the son of a bandage manufacturer ...

and Karl Prohaska. From these teachers, Mittler attained his neo-Brahmsian style. Further studies included

Fritz Steinbach Fritz Steinbach (17 June 1855 – 13 August 1916) was a German conductor and composer who was particularly associated with the works of Johannes Brahms. Born in Grünsfeld, he was the brother of conductor Emil Steinbach. He studied at the Lei ...

and Carl Friedberg at the Vienna University and the Conservatory in Cologne. He also studied with

Heinrich Schenker Heinrich Schenker (19 June 1868 – 14 January 1935) was an Austrian music theory, music theorist #Theoretical writings, whose writings have had a profound influence on subsequent musical analysis. His approach, now termed Schenkerian analysis ...

. In 1913 Mittler volunteered for a one-year stint in the Imperial and Royal Austrian Army in the supply and logistics division. As sub-lieutenant his military duties included the supervision of a bread-baking unit during all of World War I. During that time he came near the Russian front in Poland, and was stationed in Serbia. After the war, Mittler also studied singing (with a Romanian mezzo by the name of Mme. Munteanu) and later, still, guitar, before he returned to the violin again. He composed several smaller works during the pre-war years in Vienna, including his Schumannesque "Phantasiestück opus 5 for Piano, and a Richard Strauss influenced cycle of "Four Songs opus 6 for Medium Voice and Piano". Universal published Mittler's "Marienbildchen opus 7 No. 1 for Soprano and Piano" which a contemporary review called "a charming small idyll, full of modern harmonic piquanteries", hinting at a harmonic style roughly reflecting that of Gustav Mahler. His First String Quartet from 1909 also falls into that time, and it shows the great talent and ability of the then 16-year-old Mittler. The parts and score to String Quartet Nos. 1 and 3, his Cello Sonata (1910), as well as his Op. 3 Piano Trio were recently published by Edition Silvertrust (2008-9). Around 1940, Mittler was one of the four pianists who organized the First Piano Quartet. He stayed with the group until the 1950s. His daughter, Diana Mittler-Battipaglia, is a music teacher and pianist.

Notable works

* ''String Quartet No. 1'' (1909) * ''Sonata in G Major for Violin & Piano'' (1910) * ''Piano Trio, Op. 3'' (1911) * ''String Quartet No. 3'' (1915–18) * ''Three Character Pieces for Piano'' (1912–26) * ''Chaconne for Solo Violin, Op. 10'' (1926)

Sources

*''Franz Mittler - Austro-Hungarian Composer, Musician, and Humorous Poet'' by Diana Mittler-Battipaglia, Volume 8 Austrian Culture ( Harry Zahn, General Editor),

Peter Lang Publishing Peter Lang is an academic publisher specializing in the humanities and social sciences. It has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, with offices in Berlin, Brussels, Chennai, New York, and Oxford. Peter Lang publishes over 1,100 academic t ...

(New York - Vienna, 1992)

External links

Edition Silvertrust Website with discussion of and soundbites from String Quartet Nos.1 & 3, Piano Trio Op.3 & Cello Sonata

Franz Mittler
biography and works on the UE website (publisher)

* ttp://www.brix.de/bibliothek/literatur/schuettelreime/sammlung.html Brix.de - Sammlung von SchüttelreimenCollection of Mittler's limericks and spoonerisms
Chamber Music You Didn’t Know You Love ( 3 )
by Jens F. Laurson for WETA-FM {{DEFAULTSORT:Mittler, Franz 1893 births 1970 deaths 20th-century American classical composers 20th-century American male musicians Expressionist music Austrian classical composers American male classical composers Jewish American classical composers Musicians from Vienna American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Pupils of Heinrich Schenker Austrian emigrants to the United States