Leo Ascher (17 August 1880 – 25 February 1942) was an Austrian

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 ...

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s, popular songs and

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

Biography

Ascher was born in Vienna. His father, Moritz Ascher, was a local umbrella manufacturer. Leo wrote his first composition, a

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

, at the age of 13 in 1893. He studied law at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, where he received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1904. He also attended the Vienna Conservatory from 1898 and studied composition under

Robert Fuchs Robert Fuchs may refer to: * Robert Fuchs (composer) Robert Fuchs (15 February 1847 – 19 February 1927) was an Austrian composer and music teacher. As Professor of music theory at the Vienna Conservatory, Fuchs taught many notable composers, w ...

and Franz Schmidt. He married Luise Frankl and they had one daughter, the writer Franzi Ascher-Nash, who was born in Vienna on 28 November 1910 and died in

Millersville, Pennsylvania Millersville is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,629 and in 2021 it was estimated at 7,593. Millersville is home to Millersville University of Pennsylvania. History Origina ...

, on 1 September 1991. Ascher was briefly arrested during the

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

in 1938; once released, he left Austria forever. Via France and England he emigrated to the US, where he lived from December 1939 until his death in New York City in 1942. His artistic estate is kept at the Leo Ascher Centre of Operetta Music at

Millersville University of Pennsylvania Millersville University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Millersville University, The Ville, or MU) is a public university in Millersville, Pennsylvania. It is one of the ten schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Educa ...

, which also provides the Leo Ascher Music Award of up to $1000 to undergraduates. The (Ascher Lane) in Vienna Hitzing is named after him.

Career

Ascher began his career as a composer with the

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

''Mamzell Courage''. His first operetta, ''Vergeltsgott'' to a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Viktor Léon Victor Léon, also Viktor Léon (born Victor Hirschfeld; 4 January 1858, Senica, Slovakia – 23 February 1940, Vienna, Austria) was a well-known Jewish librettist. He collaborated with Leo Stein to produce the libretto of Franz Lehár's romantic ...

, premiered on 14 October 1905 at the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prim ...

. He wrote another 30 stage works, among them ''

Vindobona Vindobona (; from Gaulish ''windo-'' "white" and ''bona'' "base/bottom") was a Roman military camp (or ) in the province of Pannonia, located on the site of the modern city of Vienna in Austria. The settlement area took on a new name in the 13 ...

, du herrliche Stadt'' (Vienna, 22 July 1910) and ''Bruder Leichtsinn'' (

Bürgertheater The Bürgertheater was a theatre in Vienna. The Wiener Bürgertheater was erected in 1905 in the Third District (3 Bezirk), at Vordere Zollamtsstraße 13. It was designed by the architects Franz von Krauss and Josef Tölk. The official opening ...

, 28 December 1917). His most famous work was '' Hoheit tanzt Walzer''; its premiere on 24 February 1912 at the

Raimund Theater The Raimund Theater is a theatre in the Mariahilf district of Vienna, Austria. Named after the Austrian dramatist Ferdinand Raimund, the theatre was built by an association of Viennese citizens and opened on 28 November 1893 with Raimund's pl ...

was followed by a run of 500 performances. His operetta ''Der Soldat der Marie'' (1916) enjoyed even 800 performances in Berlin. Besides operettas, he composed songs in the Vienna popular style,

chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...

s, and music for films. After his arrival in New York, he continued to write musicals, patriotic songs and children's pieces until his death on 25 February 1942.

Works

* ''Mamzell Courage'', opera * ''Vergeltsgott'', operetta (14 October 1905,

, Vienna) * ''Die Grüne Redoute'', operetta (26 March 1908, , Vienna) * ''Vindobona, du herrliche Stadt'', operetta (22 July 1910, , Vienna) * ''Der fromme Silvanus'', operetta (3 November 1910, , Vienna) * ''Das Goldene Strumpfband'', operetta (1 May 1911,

Ronacher The Ronacher theater, originally Etablissement Ronacher, is a theater in the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, Austria. Along with the Raimund Theater and the Theater an der Wien, it is run by the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien (VBW). History It ...

Etablissement, Vienna) * '' Hoheit tanzt Walzer'', operetta (24 February 1912,

, Vienna) * ''Die goldene Hanna'', operetta (4 January 1913, , Vienna) * ''Was tut man nicht alles aus Liebe'', operetta (17 December 1914, Ronacher Etablissement, Vienna) * ''Botschafterin Leni'', operetta (19 February 1915,

Theater in der Josefstadt The Theater in der Josefstadt is a theater in Vienna in the eighth district of Josefstadt. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna. It is often referred to colloquially as simply ''Die Josefstadt''. Following ...

, Vienna) * ''Der Soldat der Marie'', operetta (1916, Berlin) * ''Bruder Leichtsinn'', operetta (28 December 1917,

, Vienna) * ''Purpur und Waschblau'', film music (1931)

Selected filmography

* '' Marie's Soldier'' (1927) * '' My Leopold'' (1931)

References

* * *

External links