Oscar Rasbach

Oscar Rasbach (Dayton, Kentucky, August 2, 1888 – Pasadena, California, March 23, 1975) was an American pianist and composer and arranger of art songs and works for piano.

Oscar was born in Kentucky, but studied "academic subjects in Los Angeles". He also studied music with Ludwig Thomas, Julius Albert Jahn, José Anderson, and A. J. Stamm. He became a businessman, but went to Vienna to study piano with Theodor Leschetizky and music theory with Hans Thorton. He returned to the United States in 1911 and settled in San Marino, California. There he worked as a pianist, accompanist, teacher, and choral director. His obituary in the local news and the Musical Times claimed that he was a founding member of ASCAP, but the 1966 ASCAP Dictionary says that he joined in 1932.

Rasbach composed two operettas, around 20 published songs, solos for student pianists, and a few arrangements and instrumental pieces. His most important musical composition was his 1922 setting of Trees, the popular poem by Joyce Kilmer, published by G. Schirmer. It was performed and recorded by many important singers of the 20th century, such as Ernestine Schumann-Heink, John Charles Thomas, Nelson Eddy, Robert Merrill and Paul Robeson. Tenor John Aler recorded it more recently on a program entitled Songs we Forgot to Remember.

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