Straus, Oscar |
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BORN 6 Mar 1870, Wien - DIED 11 Jan 1954, Bad Ischl, Oberösterreich GRAVE LOCATION Bad Ischl, Oberösterreich: Friedhof, Grazer Strasse |
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Oscar Straus was the son of the Jewish banker Leopold Strauss. He spelled his name Straus instead of Strauss because he didn't want to be associated with the Strauss family from Vienna. He studied music in Berlin under Max Bruch. Johann Strauss the Younger advised him to work in provincial theatres to gain experience and he followed his advise. He worked in Brünn, Teplice, Mainz and Berlin. In Berlin he attracted attention as orchestral conductor for the Überbrettl cabarat in that city. He married the violinist Nelly Irmen and their son Leo Straus (1897-1944) worked as a dramatist and a librettist. After he returned to his native Vienna around 1900 he started writing operettas. "Ein Walzerträum" (1907) was a huge success. He also wrote song and, mostly during the 1930s, scores for movies. On 9 Dec 1908 he married his second wife, the pretty young singer Clara Singer (1886-1967). Their first son Erwin (1910-1966) was a composer and their second son Walter (1913-1945) was a writer. After the Germans entered Austria he fled from Austria in 1939. He went to Paris and moved on to Hollywood, where he continued his work as a composer. In 1948 he returned to Austria. He lived at Bad Ischl, where he died in 1954. |
| Images |
 The grave of Oscar Straus at the cemetery in Bad Ischl. Picture by Androom (24 Aug 2003) |
Sources • Aubert, Joachim, Handbuch der Grabstätten berühmten Deutscher, Österreicher und Schweizer, Deutscher Kunstverlag, München, 1973 • Oscar Straus (composer) - Wikipedia |
