George Dreyfus AM (born 22 July 1928) is an Australian contemporary classical, film and television composer.

Early life and orchestral career

Dreyfus was born to a Jewish family in

Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was in a doc ...

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and tow ...

, Germany. He was the younger of two sons born to Alfred Dreyfus and Hilde Ransenberg. Growing up, his family had what he described as "pots of money, cars, ''Kindermädchen''

annies Annie's or Annies may refer to: * Annie's Homegrown, a maker of organic foods (or Annie's Naturals, a condiments brand within the company) * Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated ...

and holidays in Switzerland and Czechoslovakia". However, due to the Nazi persecution of Jews, the family was forced to move to Berlin in 1935 and then left Germany entirely. He and his brother arrived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in July 1939 and began attending boarding school; his parents followed in December.George Dreyfus : Represented Artist
– Australian Music Centre. Retrieved 25 April 2018. At

Melbourne High School Melbourne High School is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1905, the school caters for boys from Year 9 ...

, Dreyfus conducted the school choir and played clarinet in the school orchestra. He enrolled in the

Melbourne Conservatorium of Music The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music is the music school at the University of Melbourne and part of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne City Centre on the Southbank campus of the University of Melbourne. Degree ...

as a bassoonist, and then in 1948 toured for a year playing Italian opera with the J. C. Williamson touring orchestra. Dreyfus subsequently played for several years in the house orchestra of

His Majesty's Theatre, Perth His Majesty's Theatre is an Edwardian Baroque theatre in Perth, Western Australia. Constructed from 1902 to 1904 during a period of great growth for the town, the theatre is located on the corner of Hay Street and King Street in Perth's cent ...

. He joined the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...

in 1953, where he played until 1964.MS 2254 Papers of George Dreyfus (1928– )
at the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

He was reputedly fired from the orchestra by Clive Douglas.Black Pepper Publishing
Retrieved 3 June 2016 A grant enabled him in 1955 to continue his studies at the Imperial Academy of Music in Vienna, where he was taught by Karl Öhlberger.

Composer

Dreyfus began composing in 1956 but did not concentrate on composition until the 1960s after he left the Orchestra. A

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

travel grant allowed him in 1966 to travel to Germany for studies with

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-century classical music, 20th and early 21st-century ...

at the in Cologne. In 1972 he won the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award. He has composed numerous film and television scores, including for '' The Adventures of Sebastian the Fox'' (1963), ''

A Steam Train Passes ''A Steam Train Passes'' is a 1974 Australian short film set in the 1940s, featuring the construction and operation of locomotive 3801. Plot The opening sequence is a 1943 black-and-white Cinesound newsreel ''Monarch of the Rails'' showing th ...

'' (1974), '' Rush'' (1974), ''

Dimboola Dimboola is a town in the Shire of Hindmarsh in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia, 334 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. History Situated on the Wimmera River, Dimboola was previously known as 'Nine Creeks'. Following a surve ...

'' (1979) and '' The Fringe Dwellers'' (1986). It was the score for ''Rush'' which brought him wider recognition and saw him immortalised in the

Trivial Pursuit ''Trivial Pursuit'' is a board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures gam ...

board game. He composed the operas ''Rathenau'' (premiered 1993 at the Staatstheater Kassel), ''Die Marx Sisters'' (premiered 1996 at the

Bielefeld Opera The Bielefeld Opera is the venue of Städtische Bühnen Bielefeld (Municipal stages Bielefeld) in Bielefeld, Germany. It is a ''Dreisparten Haus'' (three-department house), offering plays, music (opera, musical theatre), and ballet. The main pe ...

) and ''The Takeover'' (1970) which had its European premiere in 1997 in Germany. Other operas are ''Garni Sands'' (1966, premiered 1972) and ''Gilt-Edged Kid'' (1970). He also composed the musical ''

The Sentimental Bloke ''The Sentimental Bloke'' is a 1918 Australian silent film based on the 1915 verse novel ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' by C. J. Dennis. Produced and directed by Raymond Longford, the film stars Arthur Tauchert, Gilbert Emery, and Lottie Ly ...

'', an adaptation of ''

The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' is a verse novel by Australian poet and journalist C. J. Dennis. Portions of the work appeared in '' The Bulletin'' between 1909 and 1915, the year the verse novel was completed and published by Angus & Rober ...

'' with book and lyrics by Graeme Blundell. ''The Sentimental Bloke'' premiered at the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

in December 1985. He also contributed music to '' Manning Clark's History of Australia – The Musical'' which premiered in 1988. In 1984, he published his autobiography ''The Last Frivolous Book'', and in 1998 a book of essays. His memoir ''Don't Ever Let Them Get You!'' (Black Pepper, 2009) includes essays on his music and a complete catalogue of works. In 2011 he published ''Brush Off!'' about his struggles with

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder ...

to get his opera ''Gilt-Edged Kid'' performed. In 2019, at the age of 90, Dreyfus disrupted the opening night of ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...

'' at the State Theatre in Melbourne when he attempted to use a megaphone from the front row to protest against the company for not having performed his work. George is currently touring Melbourne with his quartet and performing his best works to the community with funding from The Pratt Foundation. He most recently performed at The Festival of Jewish Arts and Music, where at the age of 91 he is still performing the bassoon part in the arrangements he made for quartet.

Honours and awards

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, ''Rush - The Adventures of Sebastian the Fox and Other Goodies'' ,

Best Classical Album The Grammy Award for Best Classical Album was awarded from 1962 to 2011. The award had several minor name changes: *From 1962 to 1963, 1965 to 1972 and 1974 to 1976 the award was known as Album of the Year – Classical *In 1964 and 1977 it wa ...

, , ARIA Award previous winners. , -

Don Banks Music Award

The

Don Banks Music Award The Don Banks Music Award was established in 1984 to publicly honour a senior artist of high distinction who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to music in Australia. It was founded by the Australia Council in honour of Don Banks, ...

was established in 1984 to publicly honour a senior artist of high distinction who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to music in Australia. It was founded by the

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austr ...

in honour of

Don Banks Donald Oscar Banks (25 October 19235 September 1980) was an Australian composer of concert, jazz, and commercial music. Early life and education Jazz was Banks' earliest and strongest musical influence. He learned the saxophone as a boy in Aust ...

, Australian composer, performer and the first chair of its music board. , - , 1992 , George Dreyfus , Don Banks Music Award , , - He was recipient of the first Creative Arts Fellowship at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

in 1967. Dreyfus' first composition, ''Trio for flute, clarinet and bassoon'', Op. 1 (1956) won the APRA Serious Music Award in 1986."George's greatest score", '' Limelight'', July 2008, p. 8 In 1992 was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

for his services to music. In 2002 he was awarded the '' Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse''. At the APRA Music Awards of 2013 he was recognised for his Distinguished Services to Australian Music.

Personal life

Dreyfus was formerly married to the academic and writer Kay Dreyfus. He has two sons and a daughter, Federal Labor MP and Australian Attorney-General

Mark Dreyfus Mark Alfred Dreyfus (born 3 October 1956) is an Australian politician and lawyer who has been attorney-general of Australia and cabinet secretary since June 2022, having held both roles previously in 2013 and from 2010 to 2013 respectively. ...

, Jonathan Dreyfus, who has followed in his father's footsteps as a composer and Michelle Ball, a social worker. A portrait of George Dreyfus by artist Brian Dunlop was entered in the 1995

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...

competition.''George Dreyfus'' (composer) by Brian Dunlop
1995. 1 painting : oil on canvas],

Notes

References

* Roger Covell: "George Dreyfus", '' Grove Music Online'', ed. L. Macy (Accessed 13 March 2007), (subscription access)

External links

Profile
at the

List of works
at the National Library of Australia
Complete Catalogue of Works
(incl. extensive bibliography) by Michael Magnusson, ed. Jonathan Dreyfus (undated, probably 2004) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dreyfus, George 1928 births 20th-century classical composers APRA Award winners Australian classical bassoonists Australian male classical composers Australian film score composers Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Australia Living people Male film score composers Members of the Order of Australia Musicians from Melbourne Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Australian opera composers People educated at Melbourne High School Winners of the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award 20th-century Australian male musicians 20th-century Australian musicians