Education
He studied the clarinet, composition and musicology in Vienna and was a pupil of Franz Schreker and Franz Schmidt.
He studied the clarinet, composition and musicology in Vienna and was a pupil of Franz Schreker and Franz Schmidt.
From 1929 to 1945 Salmhofer served as Kapellmeister of the Burgtheater, from 1945 to 1954 he was director of the Vienna State Opera and followed by the Vienna Volksoper from 1956 to 1963. Among the most widely performed of contemporary composers, he became known primarily through his operas. Iwan Tarassenko (1938) demonstrates the humanistic ideals of the ‘good man’, and both the ballet Österreichische Bauernhochzeit (1933) and the opera Das Werbekleid (1943) feature folk elements.
His honours include the Austrian State Prize (1937) and the prize of the City of Vienna (1960).
Salmhofer died at age 75 in the city of his birth, Vienna, Austria.