Alfred Grünwald

Who was Alfred Grünwald?

Alfred Grünwald was an Austrian author, librettist, and lyricist. Some of his better-known works were written in conjunction with the composers Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, Oscar Straus, Paul Abraham, and Robert Stolz.

After the Anschluss the family emigrated to the United States in 1940 via France. During World War II he was employed for a time with the Office of War Information translating American songs for transmission by radio to Germany.

Alfred Grünwald worked for a theatrical agency before turning to libretto writing. A number of Grünwald's librettos were produced on Broadway. These included Countess Maritza, The Yankee Princess, The Circus Princess, and The Duchess of Chicago. He also wrote a number of comedies, including Dancing Partner, written in collaboration with Alexander Engel and produced on Broadway by David Belasco. Besides writing over 40 operetta librettos, Alfred Grünwald also wrote non-musical plays, short stories, and newspaper articles, and was the theater critic for the Neue Wiener Journal. He was a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.