Sven Reher Papers, 1918-1979

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Summary

Creators:
Reher, Sven
Abstract:
Sven Reher (d. 1991) was prominent on the Los Angeles music scene as a violist and composer since 1934, when he left his studies at UCLA to audition for Otto Klemperer and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He was associated with the Evenings on the Roof program in post-World War II Los Angeles, the Sinfonia Orchestra of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the California Chamber Symphony Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Brentwood, Huntington Park, Santa Monica, Compton, Glendale, Santa Barbara, and Pasadena. The collection consists of correspondence, photographs, concert programs, music notebooks, and ephemera related to Reher's life.
Extent:
47 boxes (19 linear ft.) 1 oversize box
Language:
English.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of correspondence, photographs, concert programs, music notebooks, and ephemera related to the life of violist Sven Reher. Includes materials related to concerts in which he and his father, Wilhelm Reher, were involved. Also includes materials related to musical events in the Los Angeles area and Reher's notes from Arnold Schoenberg's classes at UCLA (1936-37).

Biographical / historical:

Sven Reher fled Germany as a young man to continue his musical education in the U.S.; prominent on the Los Angeles music scene since 1934, when he left his studies at UCLA to audition for Otto Klemperer and the Los Angeles Philharmonic; he and his brother, cellist Kurt Reher, were members of the Evenings on the Roof program in post-World War II Los Angeles; he composed 12 studies for viola, a sonata for solo viola, and a rhapsody for flute and viola; he associated with the Sinfonia Orchestra of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the California Chamber Symphony Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Brentwood, Huntington Park, Santa Monica, Compton, Glendale, Santa Barbara, and Pasadena; Reher's recording of the Hindemith solo sonata, Opus 25, no.1, was nominated for a Grammy award; he died January 31, 1991 of heart failure.

Biographical Narrative

Sven Helge Reher (born Hamburg 1911) came to Los Angeles with his family in 1914. His father, Wilhelm Reher, was a violinist who had performed under Nikisch, Mahler and others in the Hamburg Philharmonic; in the period 1914 to 1918 he was a member of the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra under Adolf Tandler. Frau Reher (née Callesen) was a pianist who had studied in Leipzig. After sundry continental and transoceanic peregrinations--during which Wilhelm reorganized the Houston Symphony and served among the first stands of the Cincinnati Symphony under Reiner--the Rehers settled permanently in Southern California.

Given his family's inclinations it was inevitable that Sven should become a musician; his first violin lessons were under the supervision of his father. Then, in the mid-nineteen twenties, both Sven and his younger brother Kurt studied at the prestigious Berliner Hochschule für Musik. Trading his violin for the heftier viola, Sven joined the ranks of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, then directed by Otto Klemperer, and served eight years (1934 to 1942).

After a stint in military intelligence in the European Theater, Reher returned to Los Angeles where he has ever since been an outstanding feature in the musical scene: as a member of the Hollywood String Quartet, as a regular performer on the Monday Evening Concerts, as a soloist with community orchestras, as a much-sought-after studio musician, and as an educator. He is the dedicatee of works by Walter Piston, Mario Castel-Nuovo-Tedesco, Ernst Kanitz and others; his recording of the Hindemith Sonata for Viola Unaccompanied was glowingly reviewed in the New York Times.

The documents in this collection record a rich musical life as it has unfolded on two continents. The collection is supported by an oral history of Mr. Reher completed in 1979.

Tom Bertonneau
May 1980

Acquisition information:

Gift of Sven Reher, 1979.

Gift of Vincent Reher, 1994.

Physical location:
Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Access and use

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
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