Arthur Willner

Who was Arthur Willner?

Arthur Willner was a Czech composer and teacher.

Willner was born in Turn in Teplitz-Schönau, Bohemia, Austrian Empire. Having trained in Leipzig and Munich, he secured his first significant academic post at the young age of twenty-three, when he was appointed deputy director of the Stern'sches Konservatorium, Berlin. He worked there from 1902 until 1924, teaching courses in composition, score reading, orchestration, harmony, counterpoint, canon and fugue. Then, was invited by former students to start a music conservatory in Istanbul. However, the extreme change of politics and government instability forced him to leave after 8 months. He moved to Vienna in 1923, where he taught at the Volkshochschule and Wiener Neues Konservatorium, and edited music for Universal Edition until his emigration.

On 15 March 1938, Willner left Austria for Paris to escape the German Anschluss of Austria; he moved to England later that year. After arriving in England, Willner received an invitation through the Jewish Centre, Woburn House from Arthur Franklin, director of Routledge & Co, to stay at Chartridge House, Buckinghamshire.