Rudolf Friml

Charles Rudolf Friml was a Czech-born composer of operettas, musicals, songs and piano pieces, as well as a pianist. After musical training and a brief performing career in his native Prague, Friml moved to the United States, where he became a composer. His best-known works are Rose-Marie and The Vagabond King, both of which enjoyed success on Broadway and in London and were adapted for film.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Rudolf Friml.

From the period sources

Charles Rudolf Friml, a Bohemian pianist and composer, received his training at the Prague Conservatory, where he studied piano with Jiranek and composition with Forster, according to R.9. He served for five years as pianist for the violinist Kubelik, accompanying him on American tours in both 1901 and 1906, as noted by Grove’s Dictionary (1920). After these tours, Friml settled in New York in 1906, dedicating himself largely to composition. That same year, he performed his own piano concerto in B with the New York Symphony Society (R.9). His early works included “Christmas Carol” and “Japanese Ballet,” which were produced at the Court Theater in Dresden. Friml gained recognition for his “extremely melodious light operas,” as described by The New Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians (1924), with American premieres including The Firefly (1912, Syracuse), High Jinks (1913, Syracuse), and Katinka (1915, Morristown, N. J.). His musical comedy You’re in Love also premiered in 1916 in New Haven, Connecticut. By 1919, his compositions for piano, violin or ‘cello and piano, and songs numbered around 100 and “find much acceptance,” with his works published by firms such as Schirmer and Schmidt (R.9). Indeed, the publishing house G. Schirmer, Inc. extensively represented American composers, including Friml, among a host of others (R.7).