Alois Reiser
Alois Reiser (April 6, 1887 – April 4, 1977) was a Czech-born American cellist and composer. Reiser studied with Dvorak at the Prague Conservatory, and received a doctorate in music from the University of Prague. He toured Europe as cellist in the Bohemian Trio. He came to the United States in 1905, where he played cello for the Pittsburgh and New York Symphony orchestras. He returned to Prague, conducting at the Prague Opera House until 1918. He then returned to New York and conducted at the Strand Theater. In 1927 he replaced Nathaniel Shilkret; he was assistant conductor until 1928; upon Jacques Gruenberg's resignation he became principal conductor. His first engagement as principal was to conduct the music for the premiere of Charlie Chaplin's film The Circus. In 1929 he moved to Hollywood to direct and compose music for film studios. He was the initial music director of the Los Angeles opera department of the Federal Music Project; performing Les Contes d'Hoffman. Other productions were planned but the department eventually failed under the leadership of Max Rabinoff. He composed a number of works for orchestra, including two tone poems and two cello concertos; he also wrote chamber music, including string quartets, and the opera Gobi. He died in Los Angeles. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Prague (capital city of the Czech Republic), Died April 8, 1976 (Los Angeles (seat of Los Angeles County, and largest city in California, United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929
Roles Represented in DAHR: director
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | MVE-49037 | 16-in. | 1/3/1929 | Liberty | Motion Picture Orchestra | Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra | director | |
| Victor | MVE-49038 | 16-in. | 1/3/1929 | Liberty | Motion Picture Orchestra | Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra | director | |
| Victor | BVE-49061 | 10-in. | 1/15/1929 | Song d'automne | Motion Picture Orchestra | Orchestra | director | |
| Victor | BVE-49068 | 10-in. | 1/15/1929 | Misterioso | Motion Picture Orchestra | Orchestra | director | |
| Victor | BVE-49721 | 10-in. | 2/21/1929 | Allegro scherzando | Motion Picture Orchestra | Orchestra | director | |
| Victor | BVE-49722 | 10-in. | 2/21/1929 | Autumn voices | Motion Picture Orchestra | Orchestra | director | |
| Victor | BVE-49723 | 10-in. | 2/21/1929 | Agitato a la valse | Motion Picture Orchestra | Orchestra | director | |
| Victor | MVE-49763 | 16-in. | 3/2/1929 | That's my wife | Motion Picture Orchestra | Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with xylophone | director | |
| Victor | MVE-49764 | 16-in. | 3/2/1929 | That's my wife | Motion Picture Orchestra | Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with xylophone | director | |
| Victor | VA-MVE-3111 | 16-in. | 2/18/1929 | Love and the devil | Motion Picture Orchestra | Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with mixed vocal chorus | director | |
| Victor | VA-MVE-3112 | 16-in. | 2/18/1929 | Love and the devil | Motion Picture Orchestra | Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with male vocal solos and mixed vocal chorus | director | |
| Victor | VA-MVE-3113 | 16-in. | 2/19/1929 | Love and the devil | Motion Picture Orchestra | Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with male vocal solo | director | |
| Victor | VA-MVE-3114 | 16-in. | 2/19/1929 | Love and the devil | Motion Picture Orchestra | Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra | director | |
| Victor | VA-MVE-3115 | 16-in. | 2/20/1929 | Love and the devil | Motion Picture Orchestra | Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra | director | |
| Victor | VA-MVE-3116 | 16-in. | 2/20/1929 | Love and the devil | Motion Picture Orchestra | Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra | director | |
| Victor | VA-MVE-3117 | 16-in. | 2/21/1929 | Love and the devil | Motion Picture Orchestra | Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with male vocal solo | director |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Reiser, Alois," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109253.
Reiser, Alois. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109253.
"Reiser, Alois." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Reiser, Alois, 1887-1977 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no92005609
Wikidata: Alois Reiser - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4734250
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/9411384
MusicBrainz: Alois Reiser - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/655b384c-7b53-4353-8e3d-31b70fecc815
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1503885 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1503885
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.
