Loewe, Frederick

Frederick Loewe, composer. Book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner.

From the description of Camelot: typescript, n.d. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 122314266

From the description of Camelot: typescript, n.d. [electronic resource]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 755039721

Biographical Note

• 1901, June 10: Born, Berlin, Germany, to Edmund Loewe, a well-known Viennese tenor who originated the role of Prince Danilo in The Merry Widow (1906) and Rosa (Rose) Stagl Loewe, an actress. Loewe occasionally claimed that he was born in Vienna, Austria, which could have been due to his fear of anti-German sentiment after World War II
• 1906: Began piano lessons
• 1906 - 1914 : Attended Berlin Military Academy
• circa 1908: Began composing Contributed several numbers to his father's variety act
• circa 1910 - circa 1920 : Studied music at Stern Conservatory in Berlin Studied piano with Ferruccio Busoni and Eugen d'Albert Studied composition and orchestrations with Emil Nikolaus von Rezniček
• 1914: Became the youngest piano soloist to appear with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra
• 1916: Composed hit song "Katrina"
• 1923: Awarded the Hollander Medal for piano
• 1924: Accompanied parents on a trip to the United States Gave a concert at New York’s Town Hall
• circa 1925 - circa 1929 : Worked odd jobs in New York such as, busboy in a cafeteria, bantam weight boxer at a Brooklyn athletic club
• circa 1929 - circa 1930 : Worked out West as itinerant cowboy, gold prospector, cowpuncher in Montana, mail carrier on horseback
• circa 1930 - circa 1939 : Played piano in Greenwich Village nightclub and at the Rivoli Theatre, a movie house on Broadway; taught horseback riding at a New Hampshire resort; played piano on cruise ships and in Yorkville beerhalls
• 1931: Married Ernestine “Tina” Zwerleine, manager of the Hattie Carnegie fashion enterprises (divorced 1957)
• 1933: Played piano in pit orchestra for operetta Champagne, Sec Befriended cast member Kitty Carlisle
• 1935, Mar. 4: Operetta Petticoat Fever opened (Loewe song interpolated into its score)
• 1935: Joined the Lambs Club in New York
• 1935 - 1940 : Worked on two unproduced musicals: Saints and Sinners in collaboration with Harold Rome, and The Milkman’s Serenade in collaboration with James Tranter
• 1936, Jan. 22: The Illustrator’s Show opened (Loewe song interpolated into its score)
• 1937, June 12: Salute to Spring, with Loewe score, opened in St. Louis, Missouri
• 1938, Dec. 1: Great Lady, with Loewe score, opened
• 1942, Mar. 27: Gave recital at Carnegie Chamber Music Hall, including excerpts from his own Insect Suite
• 1942: Met Alan Jay Lerner at the Lambs Club Lerner and Loewe composed the score for the show The Life of the Party
• 1943, Nov. 11: What’s Up?, with Lerner and Loewe score, opened
• 1945, Nov. 22: The Day Before Spring, with Lerner and Loewe score, opened
• 1947, Mar. 13: Brigadoon, with Lerner and Loewe score, opened
• 1951, Nov. 12: Paint Your Wagon, with Lerner and Loewe score, opened
• 1956, Mar. 15: My Fair Lady, with Lerner and Loewe score, opened
• 1958, Feb. 26: Suffered heart attack
• 1958: Gigi (film), with Lerner and Loewe score, released
• 1960, Dec. 3: Camelot, with Lerner and Loewe score, opened
• 1960 - 1969 : Lived in Palm Springs, California in the winter, the Riviera in the spring, the Tyrol in the summer, and occasionally in New York
• 1962: Travelled to Japan with Burgess Meredith to research a musical
• 1967, Oct. 24: Doctor of Fine Arts (honorary degree), New York University
• 1973, Nov. 13: Stage version of Gigi opened, with four new Lerner and Loewe songs
• 1974: The Little Prince (film), with Lerner and Loewe score, released
• 1979, May 14: Gala tribute for Lerner and Loewe at the Winter Garden Theater
• 1985: Received Kennedy Center Honor
• 1986, June 14: Alan Jay Lerner died
• 1988, Feb. 14: Loewe died from a heart attack at his home, Palm Springs, California

From the guide to the Frederick Loewe Collection, 1923-1988, (bulk 1945-1975), (Music Division Library of Congress)