Wikipedia:
Michael Krasznay-Krausz, also Michael Krausz, Hungarian Mihály Krasznai Krausz (* April 11, 1897 in Pancsova, Austria-Hungary; † November 3, 1940 in Budapest) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer.
Michael Krasznay-Krausz came from a Jewish family. His father was a gramophone manufacturer. He began composing at the age of 13. He studied counterpoint and composition at the Academy of Music in Budapest as the first studen under Victor von Herzfeld. Among his other teachers was Zoltán Kodály. After the presentation of his opera ''Marika'' in 1919 at the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest, he emigrated to Vienna. He first composed symphonic music and operas, and from 1923 turned to operetta. His first operetta, ''Bajazzo's Adventures'', premiered at the Johann Strauss Theater in Vienna on December 22, 1923. His operetta ''Eine Frau von Format'' with Fritzi Massary had a great success in Berlin in 1927.
In the early 1930s he lived for a time in Berlin, where some of his operettas were again performed. However, in 1933 he soon had to leave the city forever. In May of 1934, a court case took place between Krasznay-Krausz and Paul Abraham, in which the latter accused him of plagiarism. The dispute was over ''The Yellow Lily'' by Krasznay-Krausz (the composer referred to it as a "Hungarian Rhapsody" to avoid the term "operetta". It was premiered on January 5, 1934, at the Budapest City Theate. The German premiere took place on May 24th at the ''Theater an der Wien'' in Vienna) and Abraham's ''Fairy Tale'' in the Grand Hotel, whose premiere at the same Theater an der Wien was two months earlier than the German premiere of ''The Yellow Lily''. It features a series of sequences that are strikingly similar. Krasznay-Krausz was able to prove that the songs in question had been composed by him as early as August 1932. The lawsuit ended peacefully, with both agreeing that Vienna would be reserved for Paul Abraham as a performance venue. The ''Yellow Lily'' was performed in Budapest in the following years, with a total of 20 performances.
Following the success of the "musical detective story" ''Dixie`` which premiered on February 8, 1938, his new operetta ''Mädel in Gefahr'' was rehearsed at the Theater an der Wien. The premiere was set for mid/late February and the individual scenes were broadcast on the radio. However, due to the ''Anschluss of Austria'', they were not performed. The Theater an der Wien was closed on March 17 as a musical entertainment theater and Krasznay-Krausz had to flee to Budapest.
His last operetta ''Marion'' was performed at the Budapest Municipal Theater on March 23, 1940, but unsuccessfully. The title role was played by Emmi Kosáry, who thus ended her acting career.
Michael Krasznay-Krausz died in Budapest on November 3, 1940, at the age of 43 and was buried in the Jewish cemetery on Kozma Street in Budapest.
Krasznay-Krausz is also known as the author of numerous hit songs.
Note: Translated from the German version of Wikipedia into English.
