Manuel Rosenthal (Sound)

Manuel Rosenthal (18 June 1904 – 5 June 2003) was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and America. He was friends with many contemporary composers, and despite a considerable list of compositions is mostly remembered for having orchestrated the popular ballet score Gaîté Parisienne from piano scores of Offenbach operettas, and for his recordings as a conductor. Rosenthal was born in Paris to Anna Devorsosky, of Russian-Jewish descent, and a French father he never met. His surname was taken from his stepfather, Bernard Rosenthal. He started his musical studies on violin at age 6, which he played in cafés and cinemas after his stepfather's death in 1918 to support his mother and sisters. In 1920, he entered the Conservatoire in Paris but eventually left it after failing to win an expected first prize. In addition to continuing his violin studies with Alterman and Jules...Read More