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Richard Fall

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Richard Fall Famous memorial

Birth
Jevicko, Okres Svitavy, Pardubice, Czechia
Death
Jan 1945 (aged 62)
Oświęcim, Powiat oświęcimski, Małopolskie, Poland
Burial
Oświęcim, Powiat oświęcimski, Małopolskie, Poland Add to Map
Memorial ID
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Composer, Conductor. The youngest brother of famed composer Leo Fall, he studied in Berlin and was active in Vienna as an operetta conductor. Leo entrusted him with the premieres of several of his works. His own compositions were rather more modernistic, assimilating elements of avant-garde dissonance and jazz, though he also wrote his share of light music (salon pieces and a dozen light operas and revues). Fall's best efforts were done in collaboration with lyricist Fritz Lohner-Beda, among them the operettas "The Globetrotter" (1915) and "The Lady of the World" (1917), and the hit songs "Dear Catherine", "My Aunt, Your Aunt", "What Are You Doing with My Knee, Dear Hans", and "Where is Your Hair, August?" In 1929 he signed with Hollywood's Fox Films, though he continued to work from Europe. Fall's score for director Frank Borzage's "Lilliom" (1930) was a pioneering soundtrack of the early talkie era, highlighted by the underscoring of dramatic scenes well before Max Steiner made this standard practice with "King Kong" (1933). His other screen credits include "Melody of the Heart" (1929), "Man Trouble" (1930), "East Lynne" (1931), "Yearning 202" (1932), and "A Girl and a Million" (1932). Fall's life took a tragic turn with the rise of Hitler. His music was banned in Nazi Germany and performances in Vienna dwindled to virtually nothing. He fled to France after the Third Reich annexed Austria in March 1938, and spent nearly three years in hiding during the German occupation of World War II. The Gestapo finally arrested him in 1943 and he was transported to Auschwitz in November. In the chaos of the camp's evacuation in January 1945, Fall disappeared; he was likely murdered as being too old to make the march west with the other prisoners. His fate is sometimes confused with that of his brother, musician Siegfried Fall, who died at the Theresienstadt camp in 1943.
Composer, Conductor. The youngest brother of famed composer Leo Fall, he studied in Berlin and was active in Vienna as an operetta conductor. Leo entrusted him with the premieres of several of his works. His own compositions were rather more modernistic, assimilating elements of avant-garde dissonance and jazz, though he also wrote his share of light music (salon pieces and a dozen light operas and revues). Fall's best efforts were done in collaboration with lyricist Fritz Lohner-Beda, among them the operettas "The Globetrotter" (1915) and "The Lady of the World" (1917), and the hit songs "Dear Catherine", "My Aunt, Your Aunt", "What Are You Doing with My Knee, Dear Hans", and "Where is Your Hair, August?" In 1929 he signed with Hollywood's Fox Films, though he continued to work from Europe. Fall's score for director Frank Borzage's "Lilliom" (1930) was a pioneering soundtrack of the early talkie era, highlighted by the underscoring of dramatic scenes well before Max Steiner made this standard practice with "King Kong" (1933). His other screen credits include "Melody of the Heart" (1929), "Man Trouble" (1930), "East Lynne" (1931), "Yearning 202" (1932), and "A Girl and a Million" (1932). Fall's life took a tragic turn with the rise of Hitler. His music was banned in Nazi Germany and performances in Vienna dwindled to virtually nothing. He fled to France after the Third Reich annexed Austria in March 1938, and spent nearly three years in hiding during the German occupation of World War II. The Gestapo finally arrested him in 1943 and he was transported to Auschwitz in November. In the chaos of the camp's evacuation in January 1945, Fall disappeared; he was likely murdered as being too old to make the march west with the other prisoners. His fate is sometimes confused with that of his brother, musician Siegfried Fall, who died at the Theresienstadt camp in 1943.

Bio by: Bobb Edwards


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  • Maintained by: Find a Grave
  • Originally Created by: Bobb Edwards
  • Added: Aug 5, 2009
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40295244/richard-fall: accessed ), memorial page for Richard Fall (3 Apr 1882–Jan 1945), Find a Grave Memorial ID 40295244, citing Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Oświęcim, Powiat oświęcimski, Małopolskie, Poland; Maintained by Find a Grave.