Born in Vienna, Oct 14, 1871
Died in Larchmont, NY, March 15, 1942
- Alexander Zemlinsky was a composer, conductor, and educator whose contributions to classical music at the turn of the century have largely been overshadowed by his Austrian contemporaries.
- The composer’s earlier works reflect the influence of Brahms and Wagner. Coincidentally, one of Zemlinsky’s earliest advocates was Johannes Brahms, who was impressed by the young composer’s music.
- Unlike his contemporaries of the Second Viennese School, Zemlinsky rejected atonality. Rather, his music is known for its emotional intensity.
- Zemlinsky had a lifelong friendship with Arnold Schoenberg. The two met in 1895 when Schoenberg joined an amateur orchestra that Zemlinsky was conducting at the time called the Polyhymnia. Zemlinsky would go on to instruct Schoenberg in composition. And in 1901, Schoenberg married Zemlinsky’s sister, making the two brothers-in-law.
- Fun fact – Zelminsky was involved in a passionate love affair with Alma Schindler, one of his composition students, shortly before she married Gustav Mahler.1
Sources
- Antony Beaumont, “Zemlinsky [Zemlinszky], Alexander,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed February 2, 2023, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000030919.