- George Dreyfus
George Dreyfus AM (born
July 22 ,1928 ,Wuppertal ,Germany ) is a contemporary classical,film andtelevision composer inAustralia .Life
The Dreyfus family migrated to
Melbourne ,Australia in 1939 as the Nazi Party gained strength. George studied at Melbourne High School thenMelba Conservatorium Victoria as abassoon ist. As a young boy in Melbourne he learnt piano and sang in the synagogue choirA portrait of George Dreyfus by artist
Brian Dunlop was entered in the 1995Archibald Prize competition.Mark Dreyfus is his son.Career
From 1948 Dreyfus played bassoon in touring orchestras accompanying opera and ballet companies before joining the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (then known as the Victorian SO) in 1953. He was bassoonist there from 1953-1954 and 1958-1964. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms2254 MS 2254 Papers of George Dreyfus (1928- ) at the National Library of Australia] ] In the 1950s he studied at the Imperial Academy of Music inVienna . He began composing in 1956 but did not concentrate on composition until the 1960s after he left the Orchestra.He has composed numerous film and television scores, including for "
A Steam Train Passes " (1974), "Rush" (1974), "Dimboola" (1979) and "The Fringe Dwellers " (1986). It was the score for "Rush" which brought him wider recognition and saw him immortalised in theTrivial Pursuit board game.He composed the operas "Rathenau" in 1993, "Die Marx Sisters" in 1996 and "The Takeover" 1997.
In 1984, he published his autobiography "The Last Frivolous Book", and in 1998 a book of essays.
Honours and awards
He was recipient of the first Creative Arts Fellowship at the ANU in 1967.
Dreyfus' first composition, "Trio for flute, clarinet and bassoon", Op. 1 (1956) won the APRA Serious Music Award in 1986."George's greatest score", "Limelight", July 2008, p. 8]
In 1991 he was awarded the
Australia Council 'sDon Banks Fellowship, and in 1992 was made a Member of theOrder of Australia for his services to music. In 2002 he was awarded theBundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse.Notes
References
*
Roger Covell : "George Dreyfus", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed March 13, 2007), [http://www.grovemusic.com (subscription access)]External links
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an11945347 George Dreyfus (composer) by Brian Dunlop] , 1995. 1 painting : oil on canvas, National Library of Australia
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0237833/ Dreyfus' entry] on IMDb.
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