Hans Spialek
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Hans Spialek (April 17, 1894 – November 20, 1983) was an Austrian-born American composer and orchestrator. Raised in Vienna and given an early musical education, he continued his studies in Moscow, at first as a prisoner of war during World War I, before settling in the US in 1924. Spialek is best known for scoring the music for
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musicals by
Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...
,
Rodgers and Hart Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart ...
and others, as well as ballet music, and radio broadcasts. He orchestrated 147 musicals from 1926 to 1967, many in collaboration with other arrangers such as
Robert Russell Bennett Robert Russell Bennett (June 15, 1894 – August 18, 1981) was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, ...
. In his retirement in the 1980s, he helped reconstruct the original orchestrations for recordings of some of his 1930s Broadway shows.


Life and career


Early life and peak years

Spialek was born in Vienna, where he received a musical education. He sang in the children's chorus of the
Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...
and played small roles, including the little boy in the second act of ''
La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...
'' under the baton of
Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
.McGlinn, John. "The Original 'Anything Goes' – A Classic Restored", notes to EMI CD 7-49848, ''
Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...
'' (1989)
He studied composing and conducting at the Vienna Conservatory, before fighting in the First World War.Ferencz, George J.
"Spialek, Hans,"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford Music Online, accessed 23 October 2011
He was taken prisoner by Russian forces, but was allowed to continue his musical studies, and he conducted a prisoners’ orchestra. After the war he studied in Moscow with
Reinhold Glière Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (born Reinhold Ernest Glier, which was later converted for standardization purposes; russian: Рейнгольд Морицевич Глиэр; 23 June 1956), was a Russian Imperial and Soviet composer of German and P ...
. In 1924, Spialek and his wife, the singer Dora Boshoer, moved to America, where he joined the music staff of publisher
Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...
. His
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
debut was in 1926, orchestrating some of
Walter Donaldson Walter Donaldson (February 15, 1893 – July 15, 1947) was an American prolific popular songwriter and publishing company founder, composing many hit songs of the 1910s to 1940s, that have become standards and form part of the Great American Song ...
and Joseph Meyer's music for ''Sweetheart Time'' (1926).Hischak, Thomas
"Spialek, Hans"
''Oxford Companion to the American Musical'', Oxford University Press 2009. Oxford Reference Online, accessed 23 October 2011
At Chappell, he shared an office with
Robert Russell Bennett Robert Russell Bennett (June 15, 1894 – August 18, 1981) was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, ...
, with whom he collaborated on dozens of shows. Over the next 22 years, Spialek arranged the music for more than 100 Broadway musicals, and by the time of his retirement in 1957 he had worked on a total of 147.Bordman, Gerald and Thomas S. Hischak (eds.
"Spialek, Hans"
''Oxford Companion to American Theatre'', Oxford University Press 2004. Oxford Reference Online, accessed 23 October 2011
Among the shows from the 1920s on which Spialek worked are '' Rosalie'' (1928), ''
The New Moon ''The New Moon'' is an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, and Laurence Schwab. The show was the third in a string of Broadway hits for Romberg (after ''The Student Prince'' (1924) and ...
'' (1928) and ''
Fifty Million Frenchmen ''Fifty Million Frenchmen'' is a musical comedy with a book by Herbert Fields and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It opened on Broadway in 1929 and was adapted for a film two years later. The title is a reference to the hit 1927 song "Fifty Milli ...
'' (1929). His many shows from the 1930s include ''
The New Yorkers ''The New Yorkers'' is a musical written by Cole Porter (lyrics and music) and Herbert Fields (book). Star Jimmy Durante also wrote the words and music for the songs in which his character was featured. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1930. ...
'' (1930), ''
Gay Divorce ''Gay Divorce'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Dwight Taylor, adapted by Kenneth Webb and Samuel Hoffenstein. It was Fred Astaire's last Broadway show and featured the hit song " Night and Day" in which Astaire d ...
'' (1932), ''
Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...
'' (1934), ''
On Your Toes ''On Your Toes'' (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939. While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dol ...
'' (1936), ''
Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a work f ...
'' (1937), ''
I Married an Angel ''I Married An Angel'' is a 1938 musical comedy by Rodgers and Hart. It was adapted from a play by Hungarian playwright János Vaszary, entitled ''Angyalt Vettem Felesegul''. The book was by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, with music by Rodger ...
'' (1938) and ''
The Boys from Syracuse ''The Boys from Syracuse'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play ''The Comedy of Errors'', as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemp ...
'' (1938). His 1940s shows include '' Pal Joey'' (1940), ''
Panama Hattie ''Panama Hattie'' is a 1940 American musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva. The musical is about a nightclub owner, Hattie Maloney, who lives in the Panama Canal Zone and ends up dealing with ...
'' (1940), ''
Something for the Boys ''Something for the Boys'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. Produced by Mike Todd, the show opened on Broadway in 1943 and starred Ethel Merman in her fifth Cole Porter musical. P ...
'' (1943), ''
Are You with It? ''Are You with It?'' is a 1948 American musical comedy film directed by Jack Hively. The plot is about a young insurance man who quits his job to join a traveling carnival. The film is based on the 1945 Broadway musical of the same name and the ...
'' (1945), and ''
Where's Charley? ''Where's Charley?'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by George Abbott. The story was based on the 1892 play ''Charley's Aunt'' by Brandon Thomas. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1948 and was revived on Broadway an ...
'' (1948). Music historian Thomas Hischak has written of Spialek that perhaps his greatest contribution "was the modern ballet orchestrations he made of
Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...
' music for "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" and the "Princess Zenobia" ballet in ''On Your Toes'', the "Big Brother" ballet in The Boys From Syracuse, and "Peter's Journey" ballet in Babes in Arms." In the ''
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'', George J. Ferencz writes of Spialek, "His theatre orchestrations are distinguished by their wittiness, frequent text-painting and masterful use of minimum resources."


Later years

From the 1940s, Spialek worked less for Broadway; he had written music for the
1939 World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purcha ...
, and over the next years he composed and conducted for radio and entertainment events at trade expositions and civic pageants. His last new theatre work was on a 1967 musical, ''Mata Hari''. In retirement, Spialek accepted invitations from the conductors
John Mauceri John Francis Mauceri (born September 12, 1945) is an American conductor, producer, educator and writer. Since making his professional conducting debut almost half a century ago, he has appeared with most of the world's great orchestras, guest-con ...
and
John McGlinn John Alexander McGlinn III (September 18, 1953 – February 14, 2009) was an American conductor and musical theatre archivist. He was one of the principal proponents of authentic studio cast recordings of Broadway musicals, using original ...
to reconstruct his original 1930s scoring for recordings of ''On Your Toes'' and ''Anything Goes'', which, in Ferencz's words, "earned the adulation of a new generation of theatre scholars and enthusiasts." McGlinn wrote of him, "Spialek genuinely loved this music and loved getting the most out of it. His orchestrations are uniquely transparent and kind to singers – never covering, always supporting, and full of sly humour (he was, beyond doubt, the funniest man I've ever met)." In addition to his work as an arranger, Spialek wrote and published some original works of his own. They include the orchestral suite ''The Tall City'' (1933); an orchestral ''Sinfonietta'' (1936); and ''Manhattan Watercolors'' ("An Orchestral Entertainment", 1937)."Manhattan Watercolors"
British Library Integrated Catalogue, accessed 23 October 2011
Spialek died in New York at the age of 89.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spialek, Hans American male composers Musicians from Vienna Austrian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 1894 births 1983 deaths