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Schirmer, Rudolph Edward (12083458): Difference between revisions

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Starting in 1949, Schirmer was a prolific songwriter for over 20 years. He occasionally used poetry by notable poets or books by notable authors as the lyrics for songs.
'''Rudolph Edward Schirmer Jr.''' (18 June 1919 &ndash; 19 November 2000) was an American composer, lyricist, poet, and chairman of the board of the music publisher G. Schirmer, Inc., who trained at [[Camp Ritchie]] with [[:Category:Class 14|Class 14]] and served in military intelligence during World War II.
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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Starting in 1949, Schirmer was a prolific songwriter for over 20 years. He occasionally used poetry by notable poets or books by notable authors as the lyrics for songs.
Rudolph Edward Schirmer Jr. was born on 18 June 1919, the son of the singer Ann Swinburne Munroe and Rudolph Edward Schirmer Sr., publisher and president of G. Schirmer, the music publishing company founded by his grandfather Gustav Schirmer. He entered Princeton University but left in his sophomore year for the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied composition with Rosario Scalero; Princeton still counts him in the class of 1941.


In 1968, he wrote Hymn to the Americas (Himno a las Americas in Spanish) which was performed by the Washington National Symphony at the Fourth Inter-American Music Festival in 1968.
During World War II Schirmer served in the Military Intelligence Service. He trained at Camp Ritchie, graduating as a private with [[:Category:Class 14|Class 14]] (section 5A, certificate 5247), and served overseas.


Rudolph Schirmer was the son of singer Ann Swinburne Munroe and Rudolph Edward Schirmer Sr., the previous publisher and president of G. Schirmer. His grandfather was Gustav Schirmer the founder of the G. Schirmer corporation.
From 1949 Schirmer was a prolific songwriter for more than twenty years, often setting texts by notable poets and authors. In 1949 he wrote the songs "Remember Thee!" and "So We'll Go No More A-Roving" to words by Lord Byron and "Love's Secret" to words by William Blake, and he co-wrote the German book ''3 Briefe an Kurt Leimer'', letters to the German pianist and composer who had been a prisoner of war in Italy in 1944; whether the two met during the war is unknown. That year he married Countess Ena (Marnegu Eugenia) Wenckheim at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome; they divorced in 1953. In 1955 he arranged "A Child's Prayer", a setting of Rachel Field's ''Prayer for a Child'' for three-part women's chorus and piano. On 8 February 1958 he married the former film actress and inventor Iris Flores, granddaughter of the Costa Rican president Rafael Yglesias Castro, in New York City; they divorced in November 1970.


Rudolph E. Schirmer Jr. Originally attended Princeton University. He later left Princeton during his sophomore year to attend the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied composition under Rosario Scalero. Although he left Princeton to transfer to another school, he is considered a 1941 alumnus by the university.
In 1960 he copyrighted the songs for his musical ''Forty Ways to Sunday'', and between 1961 and 1963 he wrote words and music for songs including "Bluebird", the cycle ''Seven Songs'', "Don't Mention Love Again", "The Gift of Christmas", "Nobody Wants My Heart", and "You". He published a collection of poems, ''A Friend in Fantasy'', in 1964. His ''Hymn to the Americas'' (''Himno a las Américas''), for mixed chorus, soprano, and piano to a Spanish text by his brother-in-law Fernando Flores, a former Costa Rican vice consul, was performed by the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington at the Fourth Inter-American Music Festival in 1968. He married for a third time in 1972 and remained married until his death. He later served as chairman of the board of G. Schirmer, and in 1998 he recorded a reading of Aldous Huxley's ''The Doors of Perception'', whose title, like his early song "Love's Secret", came from William Blake. He died on 19 November 2000.
 
Schirmer's works in music and literature span close to 50 years:
 
In 1949, he was one of the co-writers for the German book 3 Briefe an Kurt Leimer (3 Letters to Kurt Leimer). Schirmer worked in the Ritchie Boys unit in WW II, which consisted of German-speaking interrogators for interviewing German POWs. However, it is unclear if Schirmer and Leimer had met during the war.
 
In terms of musical works, Schirmer had copyrighted the song he had written "Remember thee!" for voice and piano, with words by the English Romantic poet Lord Byron (1788- 1824). The same year, he also wrote the song "Love's Secret" with words by English poet and artist William Blake (1757- 1827) as well as "So we ll go no more a-roving" with words also by Lord Byron.
 
In 1955, he did the music arrangement of "A Child's Prayer", which was a song for three-part chorus of women's voices accompanied by piano. The lyrics were from the 1944 book Prayer for a Child by American novelist, poet, and children's fiction writer Rachel Field (1894–1942), which was a classic bedtime prayer.
 
In 1960, Schirmer copyrighted his musical compositions for the musical Forty Ways to Sunday. Some of the compositions below can be seen in the section named Music for musical 40 ways to Sunday.
 
Between 1961 and 1963, he wrote the music and lyrics for the following songs:
 
* "Bluebird" * "Seven Songs" * "Don't Mention Love Again" * "The Gift of Christmas" * "Nobody Wants My Heart" * "You" In 1964, he wrote the collection of poems titled A Friend in Fantasy: Poems.
 
In 1968, he wrote Hymn to the Americas (Himno a las Americas in Spanish), which was for a four-part chorus of mixed voices with a soprano solo and piano accompaniment. The Spanish text was written by Fernando Flores. It was performed by the Washington National Symphony at the Fourth Inter-American Music Festival in 1968.
 
In 1998, he was reader/performer for the published audiobook The Doors of Perception, which is reading of the 1954 book of English philosopher and writer Aldous Huxley. The work ties into the earlier works of Schirmer based, in that as the song "Love's Secret" (1949) incorporates the words from the poem of the same name by William Blake, so is the title of "The Door of Perception" from Blake's 1793 book The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite.
 
For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.
 
Schirmer's first marriage was in 1949 to Countess Marnegu Eugenia Wenckheim (Countess Ena Wenkheim), a descendant of the leadership of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. The wedding was at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In the same year of Shirmer's first marriage to Countess Ena Wenkheim, he was one of the co-writers for the German book 3 Briefe an Kurt Leimer (3 Letters to Kurt Leimer). However, they were divorced in 1953.
 
On February 8, 1958, Schirmer married film actress Iris Flores in New York City. Flores was a former film actress as well as an inventor and the granddaughter of the former president of Costa Rica, the late Rafael Yglesias Castro. While they were married, Schirmer wrote Hymn to the Americas (Himno a las Americas in Spanish), which was for a four-part chorus of mixed voices with a soprano solo and piano accompaniment. The Spanish text was written by his brother-in-law and the former Vice Consul to the Government of Costa Rica, Fernando Flores. It was performed by the Washington National Symphony at the Fourth Inter-American Music Festival in 1968. After 12 years of marriage, they were divorced in November 1970.
 
On January 9, 1972, Schirmer married Maria Raffaela Mormino. They were married until Schirmer died in 2000.
 
In 1960, Schirmer copyrighted his musical compositions for the musical Forty Ways to Sunday. The following are the majority of the songs:
 
== Research notes ==
* Composer; Schirmer Music


== Gallery ==
== Gallery ==
''After you are autoconfirmed, [[Special:Upload|upload a photo]] and add <code><nowiki>[[File:Example.jpg|thumb|caption]]</nowiki></code> here, or set <code>|photo=Example.jpg</code> in the infobox.''
''After you are autoconfirmed, [[Special:Upload|upload a photo]] and add <code><nowiki>[[File:Example.jpg|thumb|caption]]</nowiki></code> here, or set <code>|photo=Example.jpg</code> in the infobox.''
== Timeline ==
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* 18 June 1919 — Born.
* 1949 — Married Countess Ena Wenckheim in Rome; began two decades of songwriting.
* 1953 — Divorced.
* 8 February 1958 — Married Iris Flores in New York City.
* 1960 — Copyrighted the songs for the musical ''Forty Ways to Sunday''.
* 1964 — Published ''A Friend in Fantasy: Poems''.
* 1968 — ''Hymn to the Americas'' performed at the Fourth Inter-American Music Festival.
* November 1970 — Divorced.
* 1972 — Married for the third time.
* 1998 — Recorded Aldous Huxley's ''The Doors of Perception''.
* 19 November 2000 — Died.
* Camp Ritchie Class 14 — Graduated as Pvt, section 5A. Certificate # 5247.
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== Technical record ==
== Technical record ==
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== Research notes ==
* Composer; Schirmer Music


== Sources ==
== Sources ==

Latest revision as of 04:11, 25 September 2026

Rudolph Edward Schirmer
Personal details
Born18 June 1919
Died19 November 2000
NativityUnited States
ReligionProtestant
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN12083458
RankPrivate
Camp RitchieClass 14 (2 December 1943 – 31 January 1944)
Section5A
Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.
Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.


Rudolph Edward Schirmer Jr. (18 June 1919 – 19 November 2000) was an American composer, lyricist, poet, and chairman of the board of the music publisher G. Schirmer, Inc., who trained at Camp Ritchie with Class 14 and served in military intelligence during World War II.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Rudolph Edward Schirmer Jr. was born on 18 June 1919, the son of the singer Ann Swinburne Munroe and Rudolph Edward Schirmer Sr., publisher and president of G. Schirmer, the music publishing company founded by his grandfather Gustav Schirmer. He entered Princeton University but left in his sophomore year for the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied composition with Rosario Scalero; Princeton still counts him in the class of 1941.

During World War II Schirmer served in the Military Intelligence Service. He trained at Camp Ritchie, graduating as a private with Class 14 (section 5A, certificate 5247), and served overseas.

From 1949 Schirmer was a prolific songwriter for more than twenty years, often setting texts by notable poets and authors. In 1949 he wrote the songs "Remember Thee!" and "So We'll Go No More A-Roving" to words by Lord Byron and "Love's Secret" to words by William Blake, and he co-wrote the German book 3 Briefe an Kurt Leimer, letters to the German pianist and composer who had been a prisoner of war in Italy in 1944; whether the two met during the war is unknown. That year he married Countess Ena (Marnegu Eugenia) Wenckheim at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome; they divorced in 1953. In 1955 he arranged "A Child's Prayer", a setting of Rachel Field's Prayer for a Child for three-part women's chorus and piano. On 8 February 1958 he married the former film actress and inventor Iris Flores, granddaughter of the Costa Rican president Rafael Yglesias Castro, in New York City; they divorced in November 1970.

In 1960 he copyrighted the songs for his musical Forty Ways to Sunday, and between 1961 and 1963 he wrote words and music for songs including "Bluebird", the cycle Seven Songs, "Don't Mention Love Again", "The Gift of Christmas", "Nobody Wants My Heart", and "You". He published a collection of poems, A Friend in Fantasy, in 1964. His Hymn to the Americas (Himno a las Américas), for mixed chorus, soprano, and piano to a Spanish text by his brother-in-law Fernando Flores, a former Costa Rican vice consul, was performed by the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington at the Fourth Inter-American Music Festival in 1968. He married for a third time in 1972 and remained married until his death. He later served as chairman of the board of G. Schirmer, and in 1998 he recorded a reading of Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception, whose title, like his early song "Love's Secret", came from William Blake. He died on 19 November 2000.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

After you are autoconfirmed, upload a photo and add [[File:Example.jpg|thumb|caption]] here, or set |photo=Example.jpg in the infobox.

Timeline[edit | edit source]

  • 18 June 1919 — Born.
  • 1949 — Married Countess Ena Wenckheim in Rome; began two decades of songwriting.
  • 1953 — Divorced.
  • 8 February 1958 — Married Iris Flores in New York City.
  • 1960 — Copyrighted the songs for the musical Forty Ways to Sunday.
  • 1964 — Published A Friend in Fantasy: Poems.
  • 1968 — Hymn to the Americas performed at the Fourth Inter-American Music Festival.
  • November 1970 — Divorced.
  • 1972 — Married for the third time.
  • 1998 — Recorded Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception.
  • 19 November 2000 — Died.
  • Camp Ritchie Class 14 — Graduated as Pvt, section 5A. Certificate # 5247.

Technical record[edit | edit source]

Field Imported value
Approx Age at Death 81
Class_ASN 12083458
Class_Name SCHIRMER, Rudolph E.
match_method asn_exact_name_exact
row_source both

Research notes[edit | edit source]

  • Composer; Schirmer Music

Sources[edit | edit source]

  • Wikipedia: Rudolph Edward Schirmer Jr.
  • Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
  • Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
  • NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
  • 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
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