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Hugo Rieseefeld
General Musical Director United Artists
HUGO Riesenfeld was born in Vienna on January 26, 1879, and was graduated with honors from the Vienna Conservatory, after which he filled a long engagement in the Vienna Opera House as concert master and conductor of ballets.
Hugo Riesenfeld has gone far in the motion picture industry. He is among the best known of the makers of music for movies, but he had many achievements to his credit before he became definitely connected with the picture field.
In the course of an extremely active and intense life, Riesenfeld played under such musical colossi as Mahler, Schuch, Hans Richter, Goricke, Safonoff, Wiengartner, Hugo Breschan, and many others. His violin teacher was Bachrach.
Robert Fuchs and Grodener taught him composition. In the year 1906 Riesenfeld came to America as concert master of Oscar Hammerstein’s Manhattan Opera House. Later he worked with the Klaw and Erlanger Company as music director and conductor of comic opera productions.
Riesenfeld composed and directed his own operetta, "The Merry Martyr,” produced with success by Klaw and Erlanger in 1913. When the Century Opera Company opened with grand opera in English, Riesenfeld was secured as its guiding musical spirit.
It was in 1916 that Hugo Riesenfeld first became prominently identified with the motion picture industry in a musical way. He became musical director and conductor of the Rialto Theatre orchestra. When the Rivoli opened in New York in 1917 and the Criterion in April, 1920, they were also placed
under his direction. The Riesenfeld standards have since become the standards of the motion picture theatres of America. His entertainment scheme has been copied from coast to coast. His orchestral settings to such pictures as "The Covered Wagon,” "The Ten Commandments,” "The King of Kings,” "Beau Geste,” "The Volga Boatman” and others have been applauded by millions of patrons of motion picture houses in all parts of the world.
As a composer Riesenfeld has to his credit such successes as "Betty Be Good,” a musical comedy; "Overture in Romantic Style,” "Children’s Suite,” songs and innumerable smaller works.
Mr. Riesenfeld is now connected with United Artists and is confining his activities to synchronizing scores to motion pictures. His permanent address is United Artists Studio, Hollywood, California, and his New York representative is Abe Meyer, who makes his headquarters at 113 West 57th Street.
Quite an unusual thing about an artist of the type of Riesenfeld is that fact that he is one of the most rabid baseball fans New York boasts. When he was busily engaged in New York he took advantage of every opportunity to be present in one of the box seats at the Yankee Stadium whenever Babe Ruth was on hand to slam out another home run. He is also an ardent devotee of pinochle.
Riesenfeld is 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighs 154 pounds and his eyes are grey and his hair brown. He is married and his wife’s professional name is Mable Dunning. They have one child whose name is Janet and she is 1 5 years of age.
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