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Emmerich Kálmán (Hungarian:Kálmán Imre[ˈkaːlmaːnˈimrɛ]; 24 October 1882 – 30 October 1953) was aHungarian composer ofoperettas and a prominent figure in the development ofViennese operetta in the 20th century. Among his most popular works areDie Csárdásfürstin (1915) andGräfin Mariza (1924). Influences on his compositional style include Hungarian folk music (such as thecsárdás), the Viennese style of precursors such asJohann Strauss II andFranz Lehár, and, in his later works, Americanjazz. As a result of theAnschluss, Kálmán and his family fled to Paris and then to the United States. He eventually returned to Europe in 1949 and died in Paris in 1953.
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Kálmán was bornImre Koppstein inSiófok, then inAustria-Hungary, on the southern shore ofLake Balaton, to aJewish family. Kálmán initially intended to become a concertpianist, but because of early-onsetarthritis, he focused on composition instead. He studiedmusic theory andcomposition at theNational Hungarian Royal Academy of Music (then the Budapest Academy of Music), where he was a fellow student ofBéla Bartók andZoltán Kodály underHans Kössler.
His early symphonic poemsSaturnalia andEndre és Johanna were well-received, although he failed to achieve publication. He also composed piano music and wrote many songs: a song cycle on poems by Ludwig Jacobowski and a song collection published under the titleDalai.
However, the popularity of his humorous cabaret songs led him towards the composition ofoperettas. His first great success wasTatárjárás –Ein Herbstmanöver in German, meaningAutumn maneuver, although the English title isThe Gay Hussars, which was first staged at theLustspieltheater inBudapest, on 22 February 1908. Thereafter he moved toVienna, where he achieved worldwide fame through his operettasDer Zigeunerprimas,Die Csárdásfürstin,Gräfin Mariza, andDie Zirkusprinzessin.
Kálmán andFranz Lehár were the leading composers of what has been called the "Silver Age" of Viennese operetta during the first quarter of the 20th century. He became well known for his fusion of Viennesewaltz with Hungariancsárdás. Even so,polyphonically andmelodically, Kálmán was a devoted follower ofGiacomo Puccini, while in hisorchestration methods he employed principles characteristic ofTchaikovsky's music.
In 1929, his first child (withVera Mendelsohn),Charles Kalman (1929–2015) was born and would later on be also a composer.[1]
Despite his Jewish origins he was one ofAdolf Hitler's favorite composers. After theAnschluss, he rejected Hitler's offer to become an 'honorary Aryan' and was forced to move first to Paris, then to the United States, settling inCalifornia in 1940.[2]
Following his emigration, performances of his works were prohibited in Nazi Germany. He emigrated back to Vienna from New York in 1949 before moving in 1951 to Paris, where he died.[citation needed]
In 1958 a West German biopicThe Csardas King was made of his life, starringGerhard Riedmann in the lead role.
The supporters of both the national football and handball teams ofIceland use a version of the songHeut’ Nacht hab’ ich geträumt von dir from his operettaDas Veilchen vom Montmartre as an anthem, with Icelandic lyrics (Ég er kominn heim).
The overnight sleeper train from Stuttgart to Budapest is namedThe Kalman Imre.
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