Alfred August Ulrich Kalmus (16 May 1889 – 24 September 1972) was an influential Austrian-born British music publisher.

Life and work

Kalmus was born in Vienna and studied law there, obtaining his Doctor of Letters from Vienna University in 1913. At the same time, he had been studying music with Guido Adler and in 1909 had joined the relatively new firm of

Universal Edition Universal Edition (UE) is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, they originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market (which had until then been dominated by Leipzig-base ...

. His work there brought him into contact with some of the leading figures in new music of that era, including

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European fol ...

, and the

Second Viennese School The Second Viennese School (german: Zweite Wiener Schule, Neue Wiener Schule) was the group of composers that comprised Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils, particularly Alban Berg and Anton Webern, and close associates in early 20th-century Vienna. ...

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

, and

Anton Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stea ...

. In 1923 he left Universal Edition to found the Wiener Philharmonischer Verlag (publisher of the Philharmonia Pocket Scores), but two years later he returned to his old firm when Universal Edition acquired Philharmonia. When

Emil Hertzka ---- Emil Hertzka (3 August 1869 – 9 May 1932) was an influential and pioneering music publisher who was responsible for printing and promoting some of the most important European musical works of the 20th century. Early life and education He ...

, director since 1907 of Universal Edition, died in 1932, Kalmus and Hugo Winter were appointed his joint successors, but political events in Austria drove Kalmus to emigrate to England, where he established Universal Edition London on 1 July 1936. After the Nazi

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

of Austria in March 1938, Winter was dismissed and relations between the two branches of Universal Edition were severed (Simeone 2001). Since the sequestration of UE by the Nazi regime was valid only within Germany, Universal Edition London was taken over by

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 throu ...

. Ralph Hawkes who, in contrast to most British music publishers of the time, had an outward-looking, European view of the business, had been the UK representative for UE since 1923. During the war years, Kalmus founded the Anglo-Soviet Music Press with the aim of introducing to the UK the latest works of composers such as

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

, and

Dmitry Kabalevsky Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky (russian: Дми́трий Бори́сович Кабале́вский ; 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Co ...

. He was also involved with promoting neglected contemporary music through the Boosey & Hawkes concerts. Universal Edition London regained its independence in 1949, and on 5 June 1951 rejoined the newly reconstituted UE Vienna, with Kalmus becoming a director together with Alfred Schlee and Ernst Hartmann. The rapid restoration of the firm to its position as the pre-eminent publisher of modern music in Europe was largely due to the efforts of Schlee in Vienna and Kalmus in London. In the postwar period, Kalmus paid particular attention to such younger and more radical composers as

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

from Italy,

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

from France, and

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

from Germany, as well as English composers such as

Richard Rodney Bennett Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (29 March 193624 December 2012) was an English composer of film, TV and concert music, and also a jazz pianist and occasional vocalist. He was based in New York City from 1979 until his death there in 2012.Zachary Woo ...

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include ''Th ...

David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...

, and

Hugh Wood Hugh Wood (27 June 1932 – 14 August 2021) was a British composer. Biography Wood was born in Parbold, Lancashire and grew up in a musical family; while still a teenager, he was encouraged by the composer Alan Bush. He says that his "earlies ...

. For his eightieth birthday in 1969, eleven of the composers with whom he was most closely associated were asked to contribute to a collective celebratory programme, called A Garland for Dr. K. It was performed on 22 April 1969 at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The ...

in the

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...

, London, a few weeks ahead of the actual birthday by the

Pierrot Players The Fires of London, founded as the Pierrot Players, was a British chamber music ensemble which was active from 1965 to 1987. The Pierrot Players was founded by Harrison Birtwistle, Alan Hacker, and Stephen Pruslin.''Who’s Who 1975'', page 130 ...

. Kalmus continued to be active in running the London branch of UE until his death in London on 24 September 1972.

References

Cited sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalmus, Alfred Sheet music publishers (people) 1889 births 1972 deaths Music publishers (people) Austrian emigrants to the United Kingdom

Life and work

See also

References

Cited sources