Arthur Willner

Arthur Willner was born on March 5, 1881 in Turn near Teplitz-Schönau (then part of Austria-Hungary; today Trnovany, a district of Teplice in the Czech Republic). After completing his school education, he moved to Germany and enrolled at the Leipzig Conservatory, where he studied piano with Adolf Ruthardt, composition with Carl Reinecke, and music theory with Carl Piutti. He subsequently continued his studies at the Academy of Music (Akademie der Tonkunst) in Munich, where he studied composition with Ludwig Thuille and piano and organ with Joseph Rheinberger.
After completing his studies, Arthur Willner was immediately appointed professor of composition, counterpoint, music history, and aesthetics at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin and served as the institution’s deputy director from 1904 to 1924. Following this long tenure, he accepted an invitation from former students to establish a music conservatory in Istanbul in 1924, although political instability forced him to abandon this project after only eight months. Later that same year, he relocated to Vienna, where he worked as a professor at the Volkshochschule, taught at the New Vienna Conservatory (Neues Wiener Konservatorium) until 1928, and established a long-term role as editor and musical adviser for the publishing house Universal Edition. The political developments following the Anschluss in 1938 forced Willner and his wife to flee Austria, leading first to a temporary stay in Paris and later to their permanent emigration to England in the same year. During these years of exile, he continued his professional activities by giving private music lessons and by editing and arranging music for the London publishing company Boosey & Hawkes.
Arthur Willner’s catalogue is extensive, comprising more than 100 works with official opus numbers and reaching approximately 250 compositions overall. His output includes six symphonies, several instrumental concertos for two pianos, violin, and cello, as well as a substantial body of chamber music, including five string quartets, two string quintets, two piano trios, various instrumental sonatas, piano works, and numerous vocal and choral compositions.
Arthur Willner died on 6 April 1959 in Cricklewood (England).

In my possession is the autograph manuscript of the "Variationen über ein eigenes Thema" op.16 by Arthur Willner. The work was composed around 1915 and was premiered by Frieda Kwast-Hodapp.