The Composer

The Austrian composer Joseph Marx, born on 11 May 1882 in Graz, was a highly gifted self–taught musician and early in life he stood up to his parents who forbade him to play the piano. In his mid–20ies –in the meantime he had earned a PhD in philosophy and published prize–winning dissertations on the fundamentals of tonality– his songs established his upcoming fame in all over Austria and his works became soon internationally known. In 1914 he moved to Vienna where he was offered a post as professor of theory at the music academy and later became rector of the first Hochschule für Musik which was established on his own initiative.

As first Western artist he was invited by [...]