- Victor Aller
Victor Aller, American pianist, born March 26, 1905 in New York City, died May 1977 in the area of
Los Angeles ,California . He had a successful career behind the scenes in the film industry, and he taught piano inHollywood , where his students sometimes included actors preparing to depict musicians on screen. His present fame, however, rests primarily on his performances in acclaimed 1950s-vintageCapitol Records recordings with theHollywood String Quartet , including accounts of piano quintets byBrahms ,Franck , andShostakovich and the Brahms piano quartets.Aller had family and professional ties to the quartet. His sister,
Eleanor Aller , was its cellist, and her husband,Felix Slatkin , was its first violinist. They and the other quartet members were all musicians with the Hollywood studios of the era, and Victor Aller was the orchestra manager atWarner Bros. during the 1940s; by 1949, his hourly earnings amounted to $19.95 according to company records.Among Warner films in which Victor Aller had direct input were "
The Beast with Five Fingers " and the biographical picture "Song Without End ". For the former, he made a piano arrangement for left hand of the Chaconne from J.S Bach's Violin Partita in D minor, and, according to a press release, he spent 200 hours training actorVictor Francen in proper technique. For the latter, he provided technical instruction toDirk Bogarde , who played the leading role ofFranz List .Aller's musical heritage lives on with relatives in succeeding generations. His daughter is concert violinist
Judith Aller , a student ofJascha Heifetz ; his nephew, son of Felix Slatkin and Eleanor Aller, is noted American orchestra conductorLeonard Slatkin .References
Library of Congress authority record citing birth and death dates [http://authorities.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?AuthRecID=4324581&v2=1&HC=1&SEQ=20070517163917&PID=932]
Neil Lerner, "Music’s Role in Hollywood’s Social Erasure of the Disabled Body":"Two Case Studies" ( Kings Row "and" The Beast with Five Fingers )
Judith Aller biographical Web site [http://www.judithaller.com/]
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