---
name: "Hugo Riesenfeld"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/hugo-riesenfeld"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "26 January 1879"
died: "10 September 1939"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T11:26:59.524991+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Hugo Riesenfeld

Composer. Born 26 January 1879 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. Died 10 September 1939.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 26 January 1879, Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]
- **Died:** 10 September 1939
- **Also known as:** Dr. Hugo Riesenfeld

## Biography

Hugo Riesenfeld (26 January 1879 – 10 September 1939) was an Austrian-American composer, conductor and violinist. Born in Vienna, he studied at the Conservatory of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, graduating at 17 with degrees in piano, violin and composition. He played in the Vienna Philharmonic and emigrated to New York in 1907.

Riesenfeld began composing for silent films in 1917. He wrote scores for approximately 100 films, including Cecil B. DeMille productions such as *Joan the Woman* (1917), *The Ten Commandments* (1923) and *The King of Kings* (1927); D. W. Griffith's *Abraham Lincoln* (1930); and F. W. Murnau's *Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans* (1927) and *Tabu: A Story of the South Seas* (1931). He received Oscar nominations for *Make a Wish* (1937).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, catalog.afi.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans* (1927), Fi1m 88, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/sunrise-a-song-of-two-humans.md)

## Also known for

- *Tabu: A Story of the South Seas* (1931), Original Music Composer
- *Tell Your Children* (1938), Original Music Composer
- *Hell's Angels* (1930), Original Music Composer, Music Arranger
- *The Cat and the Canary* (1927), Original Music Composer
- *Abraham Lincoln* (1930), Music

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/hugo-riesenfeld