Item MS-5-2, Box 3, Folder 29 - The star spangled banner : piano version

Born outside Kraków, Poland, Josef Hofmann was a pianist, composer, conductor, and professor of piano and harmony at the Warsaw Conservatory. A child prodigy, he performed from an early age, before studying with Anton Rubenstein and Moritz Moszkowski. He moved to the United States during World War I and became an American citizen in 1926. He was the first head of the piano department at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music. In addition to performing and teaching, he also composed a symphony, piano concertos, and solo piano music, which he published under the name "Michel Dvorsky." He died in Los Angeles, California on February 16, 1957.