Ernö Rapée

Who was Ernö Rapée?

Ernö Rapée was one of the most prolific American symphonic conductors in the first half of the 20th Century. His most famous tenure was that of the head conductor of the Radio City Symphony Orchestra, the resident orchestra of the Radio City Music Hall, whose music was heard by millions over the air.

A virtuoso pianist, Rapée is also remembered for popular songs that he wrote in the late 1920s as photoplay music for silent films. When not conducting live orchestras, he supervised film scores for sound pictures, compiling a substantial list of films on which he worked as composer, arranger or musical director.