Hans Lengsfelder (October 19, 1903 in Vienna, Austria – February 6, 1979 in

Hallandale Beach Hallandale Beach (formerly known simply as Hallandale) is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is named after Luther Halland, the son of a Swedish worker for Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. As of the 20 ...

, Florida) was a composer and playwright who also wrote under the pen name(s): H.J. Lengsfelder, Harry Lenk and John Peters. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1939. He had mixed success with his Broadway musical comedies, but had considerable success with his songs. Friends with Paramount Pictures A.J and

Barney Balaban Barney Balaban (June 8, 1887 – March 7, 1971) was an American film executive who was the president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964 and an innovator in the cinema industry. Life and career Barney Balaban (formerly Birnbaum) was the el ...

, Hans Lengsfelder was introduced by the Balabans to Joan Cohen Lengsfelder, whom he married November 10, 1942. The couple had two sons: Documentary filmmaker, TV writer/director and suspense/thriller novelis
Peter (PG) Lengsfelder
author of ''BEAUTIFUL TO THE BONE'', ''A BOUNTY OF BONE'', and ''OUR SONG, MEMENTO MORI'', and experimental filmmaker John Lengsfelder, whose interactive film, "BLIND DATE," met with critical acclaim. In addition to the

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

jazz standard '' Perdido'' (written by

Juan Tizol Juan Tizol Martínez (22 January 1900 – 23 April 1984) was a Puerto Rican jazz trombonist and composer. He is best known as a member of Duke Ellington's big band, and as the writer of the jazz standards " Caravan", "Pyramid", and " Perdid ...

, Ervin Drake and Lengsfelder), which has been recorded by more than 30 musicians (including Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, Art Tatum, Quincy Jones and Dave Brubeck), Hans Lengsfelder's songs and plays are still performed in Europe."Sag' Beim Abschied Leise Servus", recorded in the U.S. by Josephine Baker, Gloria Lynne and others, is still considered a classic in Europe. He is also known for his lyrics to "Eine kleine Fruhlingsweise" after A. Dvorak's Humoresques, Op. 101

External links

Interview with Hans Lengsfelder (in German)
in the online archive of the

Österreichische Mediathek The Österreichische Mediathek ("Austrian Mediathek") is the Austrian archive for sound recordings and videos on cultural and contemporary history. It was founded in 1960 as Österreichische Phonothek (Austrian Phonothek) by the Ministry of Educat ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lengsfelder, Hans 1903 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Austrian composers 20th-century Austrian male musicians Austrian jazz composers Male jazz composers 20th-century jazz composers Austrian emigrants to the United States