Raimund Leo Pechotsch (June 1864 – 20 January 1941) was a composer of romantic and incidental musical theatre pieces. He was a Roman Catholic who also conducted liturgical music.[1]
Pechotsch was born in Vienna, his father Adalbert Pechotsch being a composer of some note.[1] He studied at the Vienna Conservatoire and privately under Eduard Remenyi. He was one of three brothers who were members of the Austrian Strauss Band in 1880: Raimund on first violin; Adolf and Rupert both on contra-bass and trumpet.[2] The band had been contracted to perform at the Melbourne Exhibition of 1881.[3] He remained in Australia, but moved to Sydney.
He was in Brisbane then left for New Zealand 1889.[4]
Pechotsch was musical director for Australian stage producer Oscar Asche.[5] Raimund also worked for music publisher Palings and taught violin and piano in Sydney for many years.[6]
Pechotsch wrote incidental music for Walter Howard's 1910 play The Prince and the Beggar Maid[7] which was very successful in London and Australia.[8] He also wrote music (orchestrated for ensemble of twenty) to accompany "Pete" a Lewis Parker stage adaptation of Hall Caine's novel The Manxman.[9]
Later in life he remarried Alice McCarthy, the daughter of fellow Australian composer Dr William Charles MacCarthy.[10]
On 17 September 1885 Pechotsch married Mary Elizabeth Curtis (born 1858 – 23 December), née Dolman, widow of Peter Campbell Curtis and mother of William John Curtis, KC.(1 September 1881 – 24 May 1940)[1]
Around 1938 he married again, to the widow O'Hara, née MacCarthy, daughter of Dr Charles MacCarthy, an Irish Home Rule activist.[1] MacCarthy was frequently written M'Carthy.
He had two brothers in Australia: