author
Oskar von Riesemann
1880–1934
A Baltic German music writer and composer with a deep interest in Russian music, he is best remembered for preserving Sergei Rachmaninoff’s recollections in book form. His work moved between criticism, biography, travel writing, and composition, giving readers a lively window into musical life in the early 20th century.
1 Audiobook
Rund um Süd-Amerika: Reisebriefe
by Oskar von Riesemann
About the author
Born in Reval, now Tallinn, on February 29, 1880, Oskar von Riesemann became known as a musicologist, music writer, and composer. Reference sources describe him as a Baltic German figure whose career was closely tied to music literature, and especially to writing about Russian composers.
He studied in Russia and devoted much of his work to Russian music. His publications included books on composers such as Mussorgsky, and he also wrote beyond music, including travel writing and autobiographical works. That range helps explain why his writing can feel broader than simple scholarship: he was interested in people, places, and the cultural world around music.
Today he is most often linked with Rachmaninoff’s Recollections Told to Oskar von Riesemann, published in 1934, the year of his death. He died on September 28, 1934, in St. Niklausen near Lucerne, Switzerland, after a period of heart illness. A confirmed portrait image for this specific author was not clearly available from the sources I checked, so no profile image is included.