Wikipedia:
Hugo Hirsch (* March 12, 1884 in Birnbaum, Posen province (now Poland); † August 16, 1961 in Berlin) was a German composer of operettas and popular songs.
After graduating from high school, Hugo Hirsch began studying medicine in Breslau. However, it did not take him long to realize that the profession of doctor was not for him; he was very fond of music and decided to turn his hobby into a profession. He studied at the conservatory in Szczecin. His path then led him to Berlin, where he continued his studies with Johannes Doebber.
Although Hugo Hirsch completed conventional music studies, he did not want to devote himself to serious music and decided instead to put himself at the service of the so-called light muse. Since the demand for light stage works in the German Empire of the second and third decades of the 20th century was constantly growing, Hugo Hirsch made his debut at the age of 28 in Breslau and Düsseldorf with his first operettas. His collaboration with Otto Reutter, who was very popular at the time, proved fruitful, and he set some of Reutter's texts to music, for example Geh'n Se bloß nicht nach Berlin. For Trude Hesterberg he set to music the lyrics Wat kiekste mir denn immer in die Bluse? and Wer wird denn weinen, wenn man auseinander geht, wo an der nächsten Ecke schon ein andrer steht?, a hit song that is still occasionally broadcast on the radio today.
In 1923, Hugo Hirsch enjoyed a special success. His operetta Der Fürst von Pappenheim came out under the title Toni at London's Shaftesbury Theatre and managed to be played for more than a year in a row. But that was not enough; two years later he reached the zenith of his career: in 1925 four Berlin theaters played operettas by him simultaneously. The royalties enabled him to lead a financially carefree life. Like Rossini, he devoted himself from then on almost exclusively to his private life. Although he continued to come up with lively melodies, he left the orchestration to others. One of his collaborators at the time was the young Franz Grothe, who would later become a famous composer himself.
When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, Hugo Hirsch was forced to emigrate. The first station of his asylum was London. He then lived with his wife for some time in Belgium and finally in France. After the Second World War ended, he returned to Germany. He died in Berlin on August 16, 1961, and was buried in Dahlem Cemetery.
Note: Translated from a German version of Wikipedia into English.
