Eric Zeisl (18/05/1905 - 18/02/1959), a Jewish Austrian composer, born in Vienna. Despite acclaim as one of Austria's brightest young compositional lights, Zeisl eventually fell victim to Europe's gathering political storm. In November, 1938, he fled Vienna for Paris and temporary refuge, but it was only upon reaching America in September, 1939 that he found permanent sanctuary. Against formidable odds, he achieved recognition in his adopted land, with praise for his work coming from fellow composers Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Darius Milhaud, Igor Stravinsky, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Alexandre Tansman, Hanns Eisler, Ernst Toch, and Alma Mahler-Werfel, among others. Then, on February 18, 1959, at the age of 53 and at the height of his creative powers, Eric Zeisl suffered a heart attack after teaching an evening class at Los Angeles City College. He died that night.