Walter Arlen

The Austrian-born composer, critic, and educator Walter Arlen worked in the U.S. as an educator and as the longtime music critic of the Los Angeles Times. He began a compositional career before fleeing Austria as the Holocaust deepened but suppressed his own works, believing that it was improper for a music critic to be active in the compositional arena. He returned fully to music-making later in life when his work was rediscovered. Arlen died on September 2, 2023, in Santa Monica, California, at age 103. Two of his major vocal-orchestral works appeared in 2024 on the album Song of Songs: The Poet in Exile. By that time, some 35 of Arlen's works were available on recordings.