Stöhr, Richard, 1874-1967

Richard Franz Stöhr (né Stern; 11 June 1874 – 11 December 1967) was an Austrian composer and music educator. In 1900 Stöhr studied composition with Robert Fuchs at the Vienna Conservatory working as a répétiteur and choral instructor. Between 1903 and 1938, Stöhr taught music theory, including harmony, counterpoint, and form at the conservatory. He became a professor at the same institution in 1915. His students there included prominent conductors, composers, and performers such as Herbert von Karajan, Rudolf Serkin, Erich Leinsdorf, and Samuel Barber, among others. During the Anschluss of Austria in 1938, he was dismissed from the Vienna Conservatory due to his Jewish heritage. He went to the United States the following year and began teaching at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. His students there included Leonard Bernstein and Eugene Bossart. From 1941 to 1950, he taught at Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont, where he remained as Professor Emeritus until 1960. He died in Montpelier on 11 December 1967 at the age of 93.