{{short description|German-American publisher, arranger, songwriter (1874–1964)}} {{Infobox person | name = Max Dreyfus | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1874|4|1}} | birth_place = [[Kuppenheim]], [[Grand Duchy of Baden]], [[German Empire]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1964|5|12|1874|4|1}} | death_place = [[Brewster, New York]], [[United States]] | other_names = | occupation = [[Music publisher (popular music)|Music publisher]], [[arrangement|arranger]], [[songwriter]] | known_for = | spouse = Victoria Brill }} '''Max Dreyfus''' (April 1, 1874 – May 12, 1964) was a [[Germany|German]]-born [[United States|American]] [[Music publisher (popular music)|music publisher]], [[arrangement|arranger]] and [[songwriter]]. Between the 1910s and 1950s he encouraged and published the work of many of the writers of the so-called [[Great American Songbook]], and was president of [[Chappell & Co.|Chappell & Co., Inc.]] American office, the world's largest music publishing firm.
==Biography== He was born in [[Kuppenheim]], [[Germany]], the son of a cattle dealer.<ref name="Farm auction" /><ref name="nyt" /> At the age of 14 he traveled to the USA at the invitation of family friend Aaron Lehman who had immigrated to [[Jackson, Mississippi]]. Initially, Dreyfus worked as a travelling salesman selling picture frames, but by the mid-1890s worked on [[Tin Pan Alley]] in [[New York City]] where he worked closely with songwriter [[Paul Dresser]] and transcribed song [[arrangement]]s. Within a few years he had secured a post with the publishing firm set up by Thomas B. Harms (1860-1906), arranging, [[song plugger|plugging songs]], and doing some songwriting; his song "Cupid's Garden", published under the [[pseudonym]] '''Max Eugene''', was successful in 1901.<ref name=suskin>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yy_9UJLhAUMC&dq=%22Max+dreyfus%22&pg=PT20 Steven Suskin, ''The Sound of Broadway Music: A Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations'', Oxford University Press, 2011]</ref><ref name=nyt/>
Harms sold his share in the family publishing firm in 1904 to Max and his younger brother Louis Dreyfus (1877-1967), who had joined him in the US. The two brothers retained the company name [[T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, Inc.|T. B. Harms]], and established a partnership with the London firm of [[Francis, Day & Hunter]], allowing them to market their songs in Britain. They also encouraged young new songwriters in New York, most notably [[Jerome Kern]], who soon achieved success and became a partner in the company. After the [[First World War]], the company had commercial success with songs such as "[[Poor Butterfly]]", and more songwriters joined the company, including [[George Gershwin]], [[Richard Rodgers]], [[Lorenz Hart]], [[Rudolf Friml]], [[Vincent Youmans]], [[Irving Caesar]], and [[Cole Porter]].<ref name=suskin/><ref name=nyt/><ref name=allmusic>[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/max-dreyfus-mn0001008543 Biography at Allmusic.com]. Retrieved 6 June 2014</ref>
In 1920, the brothers were approached by the British publishers, [[Chappell & Co.]], to handle their interests in the US. By 1926, they had bought Chappell outright, and shortly before the [[Great Depression]] they made a highly profitable sale of their interest in T. B. Harms. The companies remained independent of the [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] system which bought up many of the other publishing houses, with the result that the brothers retained a strong financial position. In 1935, they reconstituted their holdings as Chappell, Inc., with Louis Dreyfus moving to London and Max remaining in control of their New York operations, based in the [[Rockefeller Center]].<ref name=suskin/><ref name=allmusic/>
Max Dreyfus was "a soft spoken, slightly built man who was reserved almost to a fault."<ref name=nyt/> He was seen as a "man of integrity" and a "gifted talent spotter".<ref name=allmusic/> He helped found [[ASCAP]] (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) in 1914, and served as a board member for fifty years until shortly before his death.<ref name=nyt/><ref name=allmusic/> He pioneered a new style of [[orchestration]] for [[musical theatre|theatre]] performances, employing [[Russell Bennett]] as the company's chief orchestrator from 1919. He established a company policy under which composers, [[lyricist]]s and [[librettist]]s were all in partnership with the publishing company.<ref name=allmusic/> He insisted on exclusive contracts for many of his writers and orchestrators working on [[Broadway show]]s, with the result that "through the thirties and forties, Dreyfus had a virtual stranglehold on the Broadway musical, with almost all of the most successful songwriters (except [[Irving Berlin|Berlin]]) under contract. And the best and most knowledgeable theatrical orchestrators as well."<ref name=suskin/>
He remained in control of Chappell & Co. after [[World War II]], with new writers including [[Alan Jay Lerner]] and [[Frederick Loewe]], whose ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' he published. Although other independent publishers took a larger share of the market after the war, Chappell also found success with ''[[South Pacific (musical)|South Pacific]]'', ''[[The Sound of Music]]'', ''[[Gypsy (musical)|Gypsy]]'', and ''[[Funny Girl (musical)|Funny Girl]]'', among others.<ref name=suskin/>
Dreyfus was played by [[Charles Coburn]], who was considerably bulkier and more gregarious than him, in the 1945 Gershwin biographical film ''[[Rhapsody in Blue (film)|Rhapsody in Blue]]''. Dreyfus did not like the film, saying to a friend, “Did you ever see me wear a top hat ?”<ref name="nyt" />
==Personal life== Max Dreyfus and his wife, the former Victoria Brill, had no children. They bought a 300-acre summer home near [[Brewster, New York]], Madrey Farm, in 1929. The property had formerly been owned by [[Daniel Drew]], the 19th century railroad magnate, who is buried on the property. There Victoria Dreyfus raised [[Percheron]] horses and cattle, and the couple entertained [[Richard Rodgers]], [[Oscar Hammerstein II|Oscar Hammerstein]], [[Jerome Kern]], [[Cole Porter]] and other eminent musicians.<ref name="Farm auction">{{cite news |last1=Levathes |first1=Kiki |title=Auctioneers' Gavel Signals End of An American Dream |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38851677/max_dreyfus_estate_auctioned/ |accessdate=12 November 2019 |work=Daily News |date=30 May 1976 |pages=98|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
Dreyfus died at Madrey Farm in 1964, aged 90.<ref name=nyt>[https://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/16/max-dreyfus-music-publisher-who-headed-chappell-90-dies.html?_r=0 "Max Dreyfus, Music Publisher Who Headed Chappell, 90, Dies", ''New York Times'', May 16, 1964]. Retrieved 6 June 2014</ref> The ASCAP Foundation Max Dreyfus Scholarship was established in his name.<ref>[http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/awards/foundation/scholarships/max_dreyfus.aspx The ASCAP Foundation Max Dreyfus Scholarship]. Retrieved 6 June 2014</ref> Victoria Dreyfus died at age 95 in March 1976.<ref name="Farm auction"/>
==Louis Dreyfus== Louis Dreyfus first came to England in 1929 to run [[Chappell of Bond Street]]. He became an influential figure in light music, putting on productions of musicals including ''[[The Merry Widow]]'', ''[[West Side Story]]'' and ''[[Fiddler on the Roof]]''. When the Chappell building was burnt to the ground in 1964<ref>[https://www.prints-online.com/new-images-august-2021/fire-chappell-co-new-bond-street-london-23044932.html?srsltid=AfmBOopSucexSuVs42VukempmefektetGw9cAKZoSUdXH2w6vkwGZflt Fire at Chappell and Co, music publishers, New Bond Street, London, 6 May 1964]</ref> Dreyfus opened a new music centre in Bond Street.<ref>Louis Dreyfus obituary, ''The Musical Times'', Vol, 198 No. 1492, June 1967, p. 548</ref> He died in 1967.
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dreyfus, Max}} [[Category:1874 births]] [[Category:1964 deaths]] [[Category:People from Rastatt (district)]] [[Category:People from the Grand Duchy of Baden]] [[Category:Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States]] [[Category:American music publishers (people)]] [[Category:People from Brewster, New York]]