Henry Jolles

Henry Jolles (born Heinz-Frederic Jolles; 28 November 1902 – 16 July 1965) was a German pianist and composer. Uprooted from his native Germany by the rise of Nazism, he spent his last quarter-century in Brazil.

Life

Jolles was born in Berlin to Dr Oscar Jolles and his wife, Gertrude (née Sternberg). His mother was Jewish but it is unclear if his father was also. Oscar, who had received a degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Jena University in 1886, was president and majority owner of the large printing and publishing company H. Berthold AG, and near the end of World War I the Kingdom of Württemberg would honor him with the Wilhelmkreuz, a recently created civilian decoration for merit in the war effort, for his management of that company's metals business. At age six, Jolles played for the celebrated virtuoso and composer Eugen d'Albert, who subsequently greatly influenced the boy's musical development.

After studying piano with Artur Schnabel and Edwin Fischer and composition with Paul Juon and, privately, with Kurt Weill, Jolles began to develop a successful performing career in the 1920s. His academic career also flourished, bringing appointment as professor at the Cologne Music Academy in 1928, at which point he moved from Berlin-Charlottenburg to Cologne. The ascendency of the Nazis brought an abrupt halt to this progress and several years of disruptions. In 1933, the regime directed Jolles's dismissal from his Academy position, and, by 1934, Jolles had moved to Paris to escape persecution.