Alois Reiser – Wikipedia

Alois Reiser

Alois Reiser (* April 6, 1887 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary; April 4, 1977 in Los Angeles, California, United States) was a Czech-American composer, cellist and conductor. After his education in Prague, he emigrated to the USA and worked as a cellist and film composer. His work includes operas, works for orchestra, chamber music and film music. In the 1930s he directed musical projects as part of the Federal Music Project of the Works Progress Administration in California.

Alois Reiser studied at the Prague Conservatory, where he was taught by Antonín Dvořák, among others, and obtained a doctorate in music from the University of Prague. He received extensive training as a cellist. He was a member of the Bohemian Trio, with whom he toured Europe and the United States as a concert cellist. He played for a time as a cellist in both the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the New York Symphony Orchestra. After his stay in the United States, Reiser returned to Prague and took up the position of conductor at the Prague State Opera. From 1918 to 1929 he worked as a conductor at the Strand Theater in New York.

He then moved to Hollywood to work as a composer and music director for film studios. At Warner Brothers Pictures and later at Fox Studios, he worked on films such as Noah’s Ark, Her Private Life, Spring Is Here, The Millionaire and Caravan with.[1]

During the 1930s and 1940s he worked as a conductor with various orchestras in California, such as the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra and the Southern California Symphony Orchestra, where he regularly led symphony performances. He was recognized for his interpretations of Bedřich Smetana and Antonín Dvořák and was considered a bridge builder between European and American musical traditions. He was actively involved in the local music scene in Los Angeles and helped to found a composers’ association dedicated to the promotion of symphonic works, operas and choral music. This group grew out of discussions at the California State Music Teachers Association and included many prominent Southern California composers.[2]

Alois Reiser was involved in Federal Music Project in California. He regularly conducted the symphony orchestra and worked with musicians such as Modest Altschuler and Ernst Bacon. As a member of a committee that evaluated new works by American composers, he contributed to the promotion and performance of new compositions.[3][4] As musical director of a production of Daniel-François-Esprit Auber’s opera Brother Devil im Mason Theatre in Los Angeles, which was performed as part of the Federal Music Project with an all-African-American ensemble, Reiser received positive reviews. The Los Angeles Times praised the performance as ‘something enchanting, piquantly new’ and highlighted the quality of the performance.[5] In 1937 he was appointed head of the Oakland Project where he brought his national recognition as a composer and conductor. His musical expertise was of great value to the project. In the summer he led the collaboration of the San Francisco and Oakland projects of the Federal Music ProjectHe organized an opera orchestra and choir for performances in the Bay Area and led a newly formed symphony orchestra to regular concerts in Tamalpais Bowl and Alcazar Theatre..[6]

Reiser received several awards and prizes for his compositions. He was awarded a prize by the Art Society in Pittsburgh in 1909 for a piano trio. In 1916, at the first Chamber Music Festival in Pittsfield, sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, he received second prize out of 82 submitted compositions for his String Quartet in E minor. The quartet was performed at the festival and received great applause. The jury praised the quality and inspired ideas of the work.[7] In 1918, Reiser received a prize from the New York Philharmonic Society for the prelude to his opera Gobi and in 1932 from the Hollywood Bowl Association for his cello concerto.

In 1937, the National Broadcasting Company awarded him second prize in a competition for original chamber music for a string quartet. 600 compositions were submitted to the competition. Reiser began the string quartet in 1925, but lost the manuscript in the New York subway. He reconstructed the work from memory and revised it in 1933.[8]

Alois Reiser’s estate includes a collection of music manuscripts covering his entire career as a composer and conductor. These include his classical compositions, operas, and materials from his work at the Strand Theater in New York and as a film composer in Los Angeles. The collection also includes screenplays, newspaper clippings, published materials, and photographs. It is held by the University of California Libraries.[1]

• Almost Balladfor violin and piano op. 2, published by G. Schirmer in New York 1907 OCLC 498956877
• Two Songs op. 6[1]
• Mazurka in D flat for piano op. 7, published by G. Schirmer in New York 1907 OCLC 498956847
• Evening of summerSymphonic Idyll op. 8, 1907 OCLC 53438690
• Dance whimfor violin and piano accompaniment op. 10, No. 1, published by G. Schirmer in New York 1908 OCLC 190761089
• Trio in E minor for piano, violin and cello op. 12[1]
• Concerto for Cello and Orchestra D major op. 14, 1916, edited 1933 OCLC 53438633 I Supported II Going very fast supported III Allegro con fuoco[9]
• String Quartet in E minor op. 16, published by G. Schirmer in New York 1920 OCLC 2039055 I Very moderate II Very sustained andante III Not very lively and energetic IV Majestic andante
• Trio in F for piano, violin and cello op. 17[1]
• String Quartet in C op. 18[1]
• Erewhon, Symphonic poem op. 19, 1931 OCLC 53438646
• Sonata for violin and piano op. 20[1]

• DaphneOper[1]
• GobiOper, 1912[1]
  • Prelude to Act III, published by Carl Fischer in New York1927 OCLC 1268096216
• Two compositions for piano, published by C. Fischer in New York 1921 OCLC 498956816
  • I Little Coquette
  • II Spanish Serenade
• From Mount Rainier, Mountain scene, published by G. Schirmer in New York 1926 OCLC 498956835
• Love and Passion for Orchestra OCLC 1268096066
• Serenata for orchestra, published by Carl Fischer in New York 1921[10]
• Slavic Rhapsody for orchestra, 1927 OCLC 53438696
• Spirit of Springpublished by Geo. H. Sanders Co. in New York 1926 OCLC 498088067
• Symphony No. 1[1]
• Symphony No. 3 Fate
• String Quartet No. 3, 1930s[1]

• Alois Reiser. In: John Tasker Howard: Our contemporary composers : American music in the twentieth century, Thomas Y. Crowell, New York1941 p. 204f (English)

1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Reiser (Alois) papers. In: https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/ft0p3000ps/. Online Archive of California, accessed August 19, 2024 (English).
2. ↑ Los Angeles WPA in native music. In: The baton. Band I, Nr. 3. Los Angeles, Calif. : Federal Music Project of California, September 1936, S. 8 (englisch, archive.org [abgerufen am 19. August 2024]).
3. ↑ Arnold Schönberg To Lead Orchestra. In: The baton. Band 2, Nr. 2. Federal Music Project of California, Los Angeles Februar 1937, S. 12 (englisch, archive.org [abgerufen am 19. August 2024]).
4. ↑ Composers given new Impetus in Forum Plans. In: The baton. Band 2, Nr. 3. Federal Music Project of California, Los Angeles März 1936, S. 17 (englisch, archive.org [abgerufen am 19. August 2024]).
5. ↑ “Fra Diavolo” smash Hit at Mason; Run extended. In: The baton. Band 2, Nr. 4. Federal Music Project of California, Los Angeles April 1936, S. 16 (englisch, archive.org [abgerufen am 19. August 2024]).
6. ↑ California News. In: The baton. Band 2, Nr. 6. Federal Music Project of California, Los Angeles Juni 1936, S. 22 (englisch, archive.org [abgerufen am 19. August 2024]).
7. ↑ Berkshire Festival a triumphant success. In: Musical Courier Company Inc. (Hrsg.): Musical Courier. Band LXXVII, Nr. 13. New York 26. September 1918, S. 5 (englisch, archive.org [abgerufen am 19. August 2024]).
8. ↑ Alois Reiser: Dr. Reiser wins another contest. In: The Baton. Band 2, Nr. 1. Federal Music Project of California, Los Angeles 1936, S. 13 (englisch, archive.org [abgerufen am 19. August 2024]).
9. ↑ Alois Reiser: Quartet for strings (E minor) Op. 16. Hrsg.: The Society for the Publication of American Music. G. Schirmer, New York/Boston 1920 (archive.org [abgerufen am 19. August 2024]).
10. ↑ Serenade (Reiser, Alois). In: IMSLP. October 6, 2020, accessed August 19, 2024.