Ernst Toch

Composer

Birthday December 7, 1887

Birth Sign Sagittarius

Birthplace Austria

DEATH DATE Oct 1, 1964 (76)

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About

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his third of seven symphonies, Opus 75 from 1955, written between 1950 and 1968. He invented the idiom of the spoken chorus called Gesprochene Musik in 1930.

Before Fame

He received a well-rounded education, studying philosophy at the University of Vienna, medicine at Heidelberg, and music at Frankfurt's Hoch Conservatory.

Trivia

He scored films after Hitler's rise to power forced him into exile in Paris and later London.

Family Life

His father was Jewish leather dealer. He married Lilly Zwack in 1916. Her father was a banker.

Associated With

He scored the chase scene in the Shirley Temple film "Heidi" from 1937.