Robert Elisabeth Stolz, born August 25, 1880, in Graz, Austria, died June 27, 1975, in West Berlin, was an Austrian composer and conductor. After studying music in Graz, Berlin, and Vienna, Stolz worked as an opera répétiteur in Graz and as a Kapellmeister in Maribor and Salzburg, where he premiered his first operetta, Schön Lorchen, in 1903. From 1907 to 1917, Stolz served as musical director at the Theater an der Wien, conducting the premiere of Franz Lehár's Der Graf von Luxemburg in 1909. Stolz composed over 60 operettas and earned two Academy Award nominations for his film music, including Es geschah morgen in 1944. Stolz composed and conducted Austria's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1960, and was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1962. Stolz died at age 94.
![J. Strauss II: Der Zigeunerbaron [Recorded 1955]](https://cdn-images.dzcdn.net/images/cover/acc19270a26be82c32de3262487bfbe1/120x120-000000-80-0-0.jpg)
