Henriette “Lilly” Amalie Lieser

Henriette “Lilly” Amalie Lieser, known as “Lili” within this production, was born into the wealthy family Landau in April 1875. At 21 years of age, she married Justus Leiser, a man who was a part of the Imperial Council of Austria during that time, and had two daughters with him of the names Helene and Annie before divorcing in 1905. 

Shortly after her divorce, she rapidly became close friends with Alma Mahler (see Alma Mahler), as their summer homes were adjacent to one another in Breitenstein, a mountainous town in Austria. Documents report that the two of them traveled to the Netherlands together in 1912 on vacation. Lili even strongly supported Alma in her decision to have an abortion, aiding her friend emotionally through the process. In 1915, Alma noticed that Lili had “lesbian tendencies” toward her and the relationship quickly receded as by 1920, there was little to no contact between the two. 

Lieser was known to support many composers and other artists during her time in Vienna, even housing Arnold Schoenberg (a composer and music theorist that developed the twelve-tone technique in music) between 1915 to 1918 rent-free. In 1925, she financially supported an opera entitled “Wozzeck” composed by Alban Berg, which was then dedicated to Alma Mahler. 

In 1942, Leiser was removed from her home and deported to either Riga, Latvia or to the concentration camp Auschwitz (there is conflicting documentation of where she was deported) and murdered in 1943. Her two daughters were able to escape Europe, travel to England and eventually reside in the United States.

 

 

 

 

 

“Henriette Amalie Lieser” Second Wiki, 22 Jan. 2006, https://second.wiki/wiki/henriette_amalie_lieser. Assessed 25 Jan 2022.

“Lilly Lieser (1875-1943).” Mahler Foundation, 30 Sept. 2020, https://mahlerfoundation.org/mahler/contemporaries/lilly-lieser/. Assessed 25 Jan 2022.