Walter Arlen ('' né'' Aptowitzer; born July 31, 1920) is an Austrian-born American composer, specializing mainly in voice and piano scores, having published around 65 works. He is also a music critic for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

''.

Biography

Arlen was born in Vienna. His parents ran a department store until it was taken from them by the Germans in 1938. His father was sent to

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or sus ...

concentration camp and his mother committed suicide after a breakdown. Arlen himself relocated to Chicago, and had a chance encounter with

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

composer,

Otto Erich Deutsch Otto Erich Deutsch (5 September 1883 – 23 November 1967) was an Austrian musicologist. He is known for compiling the first comprehensive catalogue of Franz Schubert's compositions, first published in 1951 in English, with a revised edition pub ...

, and having promise was encouraged to compose, he records for Decca Records, with many of his works only discovered recently, having trained at the University of California, Los Angeles under Leo Sowerby and

Roy Harris Roy Ellsworth Harris (February 12, 1898 – October 1, 1979) was an American composer. He wrote music on American subjects, and is best known for his Symphony No. 3. Life Harris was born in Chandler, Oklahoma on February 12, 1898. His ancestr ...

, he is being fundamental in tracking down other artists from the period whose works where lost or forgotten due to the Nazi Regime Whilst working as a journalist, he founded the music department at Loyola University Chicago. Arlen established friendships with numerous other German and Austrian emigrees, including Stravinsky,

Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

, Villa-Lobos and Chavez In 2020 he received the honorary citizenship of Bad Sauerbrunn.

Selected works and recordings

Recordings: *''Klavierwerke & Lieder'' Rebecca Nelsen (soprano), Daniel Wnukowski (piano) 2 CDs Gramola *''Kammermusik & Lieder'' "Die letzte Blaue", Rebecca Nelsen, Christian Immler, Daniel Wnukowski, Daniel Hope 2 CDs Gramola *''Lieder "Es geht wohl anders"'', Rebecca Nelsen, Christian Immler, Danny Driver 2 CDs Gramola

References

1920 births 20th-century American composers 20th-century American Jews 20th-century Austrian composers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century American composers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century LGBT people American centenarians American male composers American music critics American music educators American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Austrian centenarians Austrian composers Austrian emigrants to the United States Austrian male composers Austrian music critics Austrian music educators Jewish American composers LGBT composers Living people Men centenarians {{US-composer-stub