Ede Poldini, Poupée Valsante

Ede Poldini (1869 1957) was a Hungarian composer of the late romantic, early modern period. Famous in Hungary for writing many operas, he became internationally famous when Fritz Kreisler transcribed his piano piece La poupée valsante for violin. Poldini studied with István Tomka in Budapest and with Eusebius Mandyczewski in Vienna. In 1908 he settled in Switzerland, writing two of his more famous operas: The Vagabond and the Princess (1903) and Wedding in Carnival Time (1924). Poldini is best known for his miniature piano pieces, such as La poupée valsante, given wider audience in Fritz Kreisler s transcription, Arlequinades, Morceaux pittoresques, Episodes à la cour, Images, and Moments musicaux. Marionettes were seven piano pieces that he later orchestrated. His oneact opera Der Vagabund und die Prinzessin was given 14 times in Dresden in 1916, 17 under Fritz Reiner. He died in Vevey, Switzerland in 1957, aged 88.