Joseph Ascher

Full biography Joseph Ascher

Joseph Ascher was a Dutch-Jewish composer and pianist who lived in Paris and London for most of his life. He was born on June 3, 1829, and died on June 20, 1869. Ascher composed mainly piano music and some songs, and he became a cantor in London. He was known for his compositions like "Alice, Where Art Thou?" which is a Victorian parlour song. Despite being mainly focused on piano music, Ascher also reworked ballets from composers like Adolphe Adam.

Ascher has a few well-known compositions, including "Alice, Where Art Thou?" which he wrote with lyricist Wellington Guernsey. The song was first published in 1861 and became popular as a parlour song. It was later used in the BBC comedy series Open All Hours. Ascher also composed a Spanish dance entitled "Danse espagnole" which was widely known.

Overall, Joseph Ascher was a talented composer and pianist who made significant contributions to the music world during his brief life.