Alois Melichar

Alois Melichar (18 April 1896, in Vienna – 9 April 1976, in Munich) was an Austrian composer, conductor, arranger, and music critic. He was a student of Joseph Marx at the Vienna Academy of Music, then of Franz Schreker at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, but later became increasingly culturally conservative.

From 1923 to 1926 Melichar was in the Caucasus, where he collected materials on Caucasian folk songs. He then lived in Berlin and Vienna. As a composer, he followed the safe footpath of Max Reger, Hans Pfitzner, and Paul Graener; he wrote a symphonic poem, Der Dom (1934); Rhapsodie über ein schwedisches Volkslied (1939); Lustspiel-Ouvertüre (1942); lieder; and film music.

Under contract to UFA he composed music for many films during the National Socialist period.

After World War II Melichar became increasingly polemic in his attacks on modernist music. His pamphlets include Die unteilbare Musik ("Indivisible music" 1952), Musik in der Zwangsjacke ("Music in the Straitjacket" 1958), and Schönberg und die Folgen ("Schoenberg and his Consequences" 1960).

Birth and Death Data: Born April 18, 1896 (Vienna), Died April 9, 1976 (Munich)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1936

Roles Represented in DAHR: conductor, composer, arranger, lyricist

Notes: Sometimes listed in Victor ledgers as Aloys.

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-86467 10-in. 12/17/1934 Waltz time in Vienna Florence Richardson Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Brunswick 210½bv 10-in. 1929 Carmen : Fantasia Alois Melichar ; The Opera Orchestra, Berlin-Charlottenberg Orchestra conductor  
Brunswick 211½bv 10-in. 1929 Carmen : Fantasia Alois Melichar ; The Opera Orchestra, Berlin-Charlottenberg Orchestra conductor  
Brunswick 368¾bs 12-in. 1929 Schwanda, the bagpipe-player Alois Melichar ; The Opera Orchestra, Berlin-Charlottenberg Orchestra conductor  
Brunswick 369½bs 12-in. 1929 Schwanda, the bagpipe-player Alois Melichar ; The Opera Orchestra, Berlin-Charlottenberg Orchestra conductor  
Brunswick 873½bi 12-in. 1929 Hungarian march C minor Alois Melichar ; Städtische Oper Berlin Orchestra conductor  
Brunswick 935bi 10-in. 1930 Mignon : Overture, pt. 1 Alois Melichar ; The Opera Orchestra, Berlin-Charlottenberg Orchestra conductor  
Brunswick 936bi 10-in. 1930 Mignon : Overture, pt. 2 Alois Melichar ; The Opera Orchestra, Berlin-Charlottenberg Orchestra conductor  
Brunswick 937bi 12-in. 1930 Twin brothers : Overture Alois Melichar ; The Opera Orchestra, Berlin-Charlottenberg Orchestra conductor  
Brunswick 1073bi 12-in. 1930 Capriccio italien Alois Melichar ; The State Opera Orchestra, Berlin Orchestra conductor  
Brunswick 1074bi 12-in. 1930 Eugen Onegin : Polonaise Alois Melichar ; The State Opera Orchestra, Berlin Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone 0RA721 10-in. 9/10/1935 Serenata veneziana (Komm', Liebste, in die Gondel) Marcel Wittrisch Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble composer, lyricist  
Gramophone 0RA839 10-in. 10/25/1935 Mille cherubini in coro Beniamino Gigli ; Alois Melichar ; Staatsoper Berlin Orchestra Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra arranger, conductor  
Gramophone 0RA840 10-in. 10/25/1935 Non ti scordar di me Beniamino Gigli ; Alois Melichar ; Staatsoper Berlin Orchestra Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Gramophone 0RA1309 10-in. 5/24/1936 Ave Maria Beniamino Gigli ; Alois Melichar ; Staatskapelle Berlin Tenor vocal solo, with vocal chorus and orchestra conductor  
Gramophone 0D1684 10-in. 9/6/1933 An der Donau Kapelle Ludwig Rüth Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Columbia (U.K.) CL4800 10-in. 4/10/1934 La guerre des valses Marcel Carivan ; Germaine Cernay Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Melichar, Alois," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103339.

Melichar, Alois. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103339.

"Melichar, Alois." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103339

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