Wilhelm Grosz
Wilhelm Grosz (11 August 1894 – 10 December 1939) (sometimes credited as Hugh Williams) was an Austrian composer, pianist, and conductor who from 1934 worked in the UK before moving to the USA in 1938. Grosz composed both classical concert works and (from exile) internationally successful popular songs. Life Wilhelm Grosz was born in Vienna. He studied music with Richard Robert (piano), Franz Schreker (composition) and Guido Adler (musicology). In 1921 he was appointed conductor of the Mannheim Opera, but returned to Vienna in 1922, where he worked as a pianist and composer. From 1927 he was the artistic manager of the Ultraphone Gramophone Company (Deutsche Ultraphon AG) in Berlin, where he was involved with more popular music forms. In 1933 he became conductor of the Kammerspiele Theater in Vienna. Forced to flee his native land because of the Nazi takeover, Grosz resettled in England in 1934. Finding little interest there for his avant garde musical style he instead applied his very considerable melodic gift to setting the lyrics of popular songs, some of which became international successes. Most of his most popular titles were written with lyricist Jimmy Kennedy: "Harbour Lights", "Red Sails in the Sunset", "When Budapest Was