Alexander Zemlinsky was an Austrian composition teacher and composer of Polish parentage, whose pupils included Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern and Alma Schindler (who would later marry Gustav Mahler). His work conducting operas at the Vienna Volksoper (Vienna Public Opera) allowed him to introduce the public to many important modern operatic works, and in his time Zemlinsky also attained the position of principal conductor at Otto Klemperer's Kroll Opera in Berlin. In addition to this he produced a range of symphonies and ballets.

Zemlinsky was born on October the 14th, 1871 and studied piano from an early age. Later, in 1884 he played the organ in the synagogue and, with such clear musical skill, was eventually admitted to the Vienna Music Conservatory. Graduating to the Conservatory's senior school he studied piano with Anton Door and attended the theory classes of Robert Fuchs and Franz Krenn. It was during this time he completed his first piano sonata, along with other short pieces.

Following the receipt of a gold medal and Bösendorfer grand piano in the Conservatory's annual piano competition, Zemlinsky's career moved on to the study of orchestration, vocal writing and score reading until 1892. His first symphony was begun during this period but remains incomplete, as Zemlinsky went on to focus on the writing of Ländliche Tänze (Rustic Dances), a set of twelve pieces in a range of keys.

After this Zemlinsky was conscripted. I could, at this point, depart from the focus of this writeup and muse on the nature of such things, but ultimately it would be meaningless. Instead, let use begin a new sentence with that very word: Ultimately, following three medical examinations, he was deemed unsuitable material and continued to compose a variety of pieces. He eventually formed an amateur orchestra in 1895, at which time he also began to teach counterpoint. A year later his music was recommended for publication by Brahms, and his third symphony was shortly completed.

Zemlinsky continued to compose and teach in Vienna until 1911, when he became increasingly dissatisfied with the discrepancies between his musical career and that which he felt he deserved. Moving to Prague he took up the position of opera conductor at the Neues Deutsches Theater where he began to form cordial relationships with his Czech colleagues and made attempts to blend the two musical styles. Zemlinksy did not leave Prague until 1927, when he moved to Berlin, taking up residence at the Kroll Opera under the overall direction of Otto Klemperer.

Having married in 1930, Zemlinsky continued to compose until 1939. By this time he was been forced out of Germany by the Nazis, and had moved to New York city, where he lived in relative obscurity. A series of strokes brought a great change in Zemlinsky's health, and he found he was unable to continue his work. Eventually, on March the 15th 1942, Zemlinsky developed pneumonia and died.

Sources: Various websites, Hutchinson's Encyclopedia.