Ziehrer, Carl Michael

Ziehrer, Carl Michael, Austrian bandleader and composer; b. Vienna, May 2, 1843; d. there, Nov. 14, 1922. Entirely self-taught in music, he organized in 1863 a dance orch., with which he made tours of Austria and Germany, introducing his own pieces. With an enlarged orch. (50 players), he established a regular series of popular concerts in Vienna, which met with great success; in 1908 he was appointed music director of the court balls. He wrote nearly 600 marches and dances for orch. (some very popular: Meeresleuchten, Evatöchter, Donauwalzer, Alt-Wien, Ziehrereien, etc.), and produced in Vienna a number of operettas: Wiener Kinder (Feb. 19, 1881), Mahomeds Paradies (Feb. 26, 1866), König Jerome (Nov. 28, 1878), Ein Deutschmeister (Nov. 30, 1888), Der schöne Rigo (May 24, 1898), Die Landstreicher, his best work (July 29, 1899), Die drei Wünsche (March 9, 1901), Der Fremdenführer (Oct. 11,1902), Der Schätzmeister (Dec. 10,1904), Fesche Geister (July 7,1905), Am Lido (Aug. 31, 1907), Ein tolles Mädel (Nov. 8, 1907), Der Liebeswalzer (Oct. 24,1908), Die Gaukler (Sept. 6,1909), Herr und Frau Biedermeier (Oct. 5,1910), In 50 Jahren (Jan. 7,1911), Fürst Casimir (Sept. 13, 1913), Der Husarengeneral (Oct. 3, 1913), Das dumme Herz (Feb. 27, 1914), and Die verliebte Eskadron (July 11, 1920).

Bibliography

M. Schönherr, CM. Z. (Vienna, 1973); idem, CM. Z.: Sein Werk, sein Leben, seine Zeit (Vienna, 1975).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire