Wilhelm Grosz

Wilhelm Grosz (11 August 1894 – 10 December 1939) (sometimes credited as Hugh Williams) was an Austrian composer, pianist, and conductor.

Wilhelm Grosz was born in Vienna. He studied music with Richard Robert, Franz Schreker and Guido Adler. In 1921 he was appointed conductor of the Mannheim Opera, but returned to Vienna in 1922, where he worked as a pianist and composer. From 1927 he was the artistic manager of the Ultraphone Gramophone company in Berlin. In 1933 he became conductor of the Kammerspiele Theater in Vienna.

Forced to flee his native land because of the Nazi takeover, Grosz resettled in England in 1934. However, he found little interest there for his avant garde musical style. He was able to apply a considerable melodic gift to setting the lyrics of popular songs, some of which became international successes. Most of his most popular titles were written with lyricist Jimmy Kennedy: "Harbour Lights", "Red Sails in the Sunset", "When Budapest Was Young", and "Isle of Capri".

Grosz's classical compositions include three operas, two ballets, incidental music for three plays, scores for a number of films, orchestral works, a Symphonic Dance for piano and orchestra, chamber music, piano pieces and songs.

Afrika-Songs, a song cycle for two vocal soloists and chamber ensemble, was first performed in 1930. It utilizes texts by Afro-American poets, mainly Langston Hughes, and a strongly blues-flavored sound. Both Afrika-Songs and a selection of the pop tunes, along with other of Grosz's works, were recorded in the mid-1990s by Decca Records, as part of their series called Entartete Musik (subtitled "Music Suppressed By the Third Reich").

He died in 1939 in New York City.

Birth and Death Data: Born August 11, 1894 (Vienna), Died December 10, 1939 (New York City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1931 - 1950

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, songwriter

Notes: Name sometimes appears as Will Grosz. Used the pseudonym Hugh Williams.

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

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 52 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor 79876 10-in. 4/16/1935 Ilha de Capri Francisco Alves Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor BS-84991 10-in. 11/14/1934 Isle of Capri Luis Alvarez ; Xavier Cugat Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-86245 10-in. 11/23/1934 Isle of Capri Al Mitchell Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BAVE-86766 10-in. 2/15/1935 Isla de Capri Orquesta Típica Osvaldo Fresedo ; Roberto Ray Instrumental ensemble, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BAVE-86773 10-in. February 1935 Isla de Capri Alberto Gómez Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor BVE-89201 10-in. 3/8/1935 Isla de Capri Marimba Pan-Americana Marimba band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-89357 10-in. 3/20/1935 Is to nissaki Kapri Tetos Demetriades (Τετος Δημητριαδης) ; Costas Kazis Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor BS-89511 10-in. 4/1/1935 Tina Don Reid ; Xavier Cugat Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-94368 10-in. 8/8/1935 The Isle of Capri Riley Puckett Male vocal solo, with guitar composer  
Victor BS-95043 10-in. 9/18/1935 Red sails in the sunset Al Bowlly ; Ray Noble Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-95339 10-in. 10/5/1935 Red sails in the sunset Little Ramblers ; Ward Pinkett Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal ensemble composer  
Victor BS-96272 10-in. 11/4/1935 Red sails in the sunset The Girls of the Golden West Female vocal duet, with guitar composer  
Victor BS-99393 10-in. 2/26/1936 Isle of Capri Fredricksburg Future Farmers Instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor PBS-09512 10-in. 6/10/1937 The miller's daughter Marianne George Hamilton ; Music Box Music ; Lee Norton Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BS-010529 10-in. 6/8/1937 The miller's daughter, Marianne Ken Drake Orchestra ; Jimmy Ray Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BS-011141 10-in. 7/2/1937 Harbor lights Connecticut Yankees ; Rudy Vallée Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor BS-015563 10-in. 10/27/1937 Ten pretty girls Guy Lombardo ; Royal Canadians Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio songwriter  
Victor BS-037699 10-in. 6/27/1939 The day we meet again Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-038411 10-in. 7/17/1939 The Hoiriger schottische Jimmy Brown ; Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal chorus composer  
Victor BS-038461 10-in. 7/21/1939 My heart is in Vienna tonight Wayne King Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-041364 10-in. 9/28/1939 Tomorrow night Clyde Burke ; Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-042623 10-in. 8/30/1939 Tomorrow night Ozzie Nelson Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-042640 10-in. 9/5/1939 The beautiful buxom barmaid Smoothies Mixed vocal trio, with jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-043882 10-in. 11/21/1939 In an old Dutch garden (By an old Dutch mill) Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye ; Charles Wilson Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal ensemble composer  
Victor BS-043909 10-in. 11/22/1939 In an old Dutch garden (by an old Dutch mill) Ray Eberle ; Glenn Miller Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
(Results 1-25 of 52 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Grosz, Wilhelm," accessed November 19, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/108685.

Grosz, Wilhelm. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 19, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/108685.

"Grosz, Wilhelm." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 19 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/108685

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