Music Publisher, Producer. Max Dreyfus operated The American office of British music publisher Chappell and Company Ltd beginning in 1935. Under the hand of Dreyfus, and his brother Louis S. Dreyfus (who operated the London office of the firm), Chappell and Company became a major powerhouse in the music industry, especially in musical theater, and the world's largest publisher of music. Among the company's catalog of music included the scores for No No Nannette, South Pacific, Porgy & Bess, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, and The Sound of Music, and other major works included the "American Songbook" era. Chappell & Company published major works by the top composers and lyricists in the American theater, including Rogers and Hart, Rogers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, both George and Ira Gershwin. Dreyfus and his brother became major backers of Broadway shows and helped to take the "American Musical" form to London for major stage productions. Before his tenure with Chappell, Dreyfus owned the music publisher Harmes & Company where he hired young artists such as Jerome Kern and then session pianist George Gershwin. When Harmes was sold to Warner, Max Dreyfus stayed on as a consultant until leaving for Chappell's newly organized U.S. office. Max Dreyfus was also a founding member of The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). Dreyfus' relationship to the Gershwin's was important enough that he was portrayed by Charles Coburn in the 1939 movie Rhapsody in Blue.
Music Publisher, Producer. Max Dreyfus operated The American office of British music publisher Chappell and Company Ltd beginning in 1935. Under the hand of Dreyfus, and his brother Louis S. Dreyfus (who operated the London office of the firm), Chappell and Company became a major powerhouse in the music industry, especially in musical theater, and the world's largest publisher of music. Among the company's catalog of music included the scores for No No Nannette, South Pacific, Porgy & Bess, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, and The Sound of Music, and other major works included the "American Songbook" era. Chappell & Company published major works by the top composers and lyricists in the American theater, including Rogers and Hart, Rogers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, both George and Ira Gershwin. Dreyfus and his brother became major backers of Broadway shows and helped to take the "American Musical" form to London for major stage productions. Before his tenure with Chappell, Dreyfus owned the music publisher Harmes & Company where he hired young artists such as Jerome Kern and then session pianist George Gershwin. When Harmes was sold to Warner, Max Dreyfus stayed on as a consultant until leaving for Chappell's newly organized U.S. office. Max Dreyfus was also a founding member of The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). Dreyfus' relationship to the Gershwin's was important enough that he was portrayed by Charles Coburn in the 1939 movie Rhapsody in Blue.
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