Josef Weiss

Josef Weiss was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He began his career as a concert pianist in 1877 at the age of 13. He performed in concert halls internationally through 1924, and was particularly admired for his performances of the works of Johannes Brahms, Frédéric Chopin, and Franz Liszt; the latter of whom was his teacher. He made several recordings for Berlin-based Anker-Record and Berlin music publisher Carl Simon published a number of his compositions. He was notably the first composer to write a film score for a German language film, writing music that accompanied the premiere of The Student of Prague in 1913. His piano score for that film was later orchestrated for presentations of that film at music festivals internationally in 2013. A victim of the Holocaust, he died while interned in the Budapest Ghetto in 1945.