Eugen Haile

Eugen Haile (February 21, 1873 – August 14, 1933) was a German-American composer, singer, and accompanist, primarily known for his songs. In his lifetime, it was claimed that he was one of the “truly inspired melodists, a lineal descendent of the great lyricists, Schubert, Schumann, Franz and Brahms.” Biography Early life Haile was born in Ulm, “on the fringe of the Black Forest”. During his childhood Haile liked the zither, and also played the flute, which he learned from “an old town musician … The boy preferred to play by ear and in the open; or to improvise an obbligato to the deep bass of an old shoemaker friend whose singing of chorals he enjoyed.” He loved “emotional spontenaity” and folksong, and had a “preference for simple sentiments simply and sincerely expressed”. and got married. His wife was a contralto, Around 1905, Haile began work on a second opera, called Viola d’Amore. They became active in the musical life of the city. In November, 1907, the singer Theodore Van Yorx gave a recital of Haile’s songs at Mendelssohn Hall in New York City, accompanied by the composer at the piano. The program consisted of readings by Van Yorx from Haile’s autobiography, intersperse