Maximilian Steiner (August 28, 1839 - May 29, 1880) was an Austrian actor and theater manager. Steiner was manager of Vienna's Theater an der Wien from 1869 to 1875 with Marie Geistinger, a Viennese actress, and from 1875 to 1880 on his own. During this period, he is said to have discovered Johann Strauss, and encouraged Jacques Offenbach to drop a lucrative conducting career to write his first operetta.[1] Steiner gradually phased out spoken-word dramas from the Theater program, contributing to the Viennese opera boom.[2] Steiner was born in Ofen, near Budapest in Hungary, and died in Baden, Lower Austria. He had two sons: Franz Steiner, who took over his function in 1880 and remained until 1884; and Gabor Steiner, who also became a theatre manager and operator of a music hall. He was grandfather of Max Steiner, a Hollywood film composer.
References
- ^ Max Steiner. All Music Guide, Answers.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-10. Note: citing the summary of Maximilian in grandson's article.
- ^ Vienna1900: Theater an der Wien. Washington University. Retrieved on 2007-04-10.
External links
- Profile at Österreich-Lexikon
