Haapalah

Alexander Zemlinsky was born in the Odeongasse, in Leopoldstadt, Wien's second district.

Clara Semo von Zemlinszky gave birth to son Alexander, who was circumcised a week later.
His name was inscribed in the records of the Sephardic Jewish community of Wien.

In 1879, Alexander left Sephardic school and was enrolled in a state-run primary school.

In 1884, Alexander Zemlinksy played the organ in the synagogue on high holy days and holidays.
In recognition of his musical ability, Alexander was admitted to the Vienna Music Conservatory and enrolled in its preparatory school.

In 1890, 18-year-old Alexander Zemlinsky was recognized as the 'best pianist in the Conservatory' in his class, winning a Bösendorfer grand piano and a gold medal in a competition on June 26, and giving his diploma concert on July 12, thus completing his piano studies.

In 1893, 21-year-old Zemlinsky joined the Wiener Tonkünstlerverein ['Viennese Tone-Artists Association'], and thus secured performances of several of his chamber works.

In 1896, Alexander Zemlinsky was encouraged by Johannes Brahms, who commended the younger composer's Clarinet Trio to the Simrock company for publication.

In 1897, Alexander Zemlinsky and Schönberg spent the summer together working on the vocal score of Sarema, part of whose libretto is said to be written by Schönberg and Alexander's father, Adolf.

In 1899, Zemlinsky's opera Sarema was published by Berté in Leipzig.

On May 29, 1903, Alexander Zemlinsky conducted at the Carltheater for the last time.
At the end of the concert season, Zemlinsky also resigned from the Wiener Tonkünstlerverein ['Viennese Tone-Artists Association'], after they refused to play Schönberg's Verklärte Nacht (with Schönberg away in Berlin).
Later in the year, Zemlinsky accepted the invitation to become Music Director of a new music-society formed with the intention of sponsoring new music in Vienna, the Ansorge-Verein, named after the composer Conrad Ansorge. The society gave concerts for only one season before folding.

From 1911 to 1927, he was conductor at Deutsches Landestheater in Prague, premiering Schoenberg's Erwartung in 1924. Zemlinsky then moved to Berlin, where he taught and worked under Otto Klemperer as a conductor at the Kroll Opera.
In 1920, Alexander Zemlinsky conducted master class in composition at Prague's Deutsche Akademie für Musik (German Music Academy).
In 1922, he became active in, and for a time is president of, the Prague Verein für Musikalische Privataufführungen (Society for Private Musical Performances, founded 1921-dissolved 1924) affiliated with a society of the same name founded by Schönberg. Zemlinsky left Prague to become Kapellmeister at Berlin's Kroll Opera (1927-1930) whose orchestra was under the overall direction of Otto Klemperer. He taught until 1933 at Berlin's Musik Hochschule (Music Academy) and was active as a guest conductor throughout Europe.

Zemlinsky withdrew from the Isrealitische Kultusgemeinde and became baptised.

Later in the year he also becomes a Freemason.

After a two-year engagement Alexander Zemlinsky married Ida Guttmann, younger sister of his former fiancée Melanie.

In spring 1938, Alexander Zemlinsky needed his father's baptism certificate, as well as his grandparents’ marriage certificate, to prove his Aryan descent.
According to the Nuremberg Race Laws, he was still regarded as “a quarter Jewish”, as his mother had Sephardic-Jewish ancestors.

After a year long attempt to get exit approval, Alex Zemlinksy left Prague with his wife, Luise, for Rotterdam to embark for the voyage to the United States.
Melanie Guttmann tried to find them an American sponsor and raise money for them.
On December 23, Alexander Zemlinsky and his wife arrived at Ellis Island, and settled first into a New York City apartment, on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

While fellow émigré Schoenberg was celebrated and feted in the Los Angeles of the 1930s and 40s -- teaching at UCLA and USC and gaining a new generation of acolytes -- Alexander Zemlinsky was neglected and virtually unknown in his adopted country.
He fell ill, suffering a series of strokes, and ceased composing.

Alexander Zemlinsky developed pneumonia and died.