Leo Blech, born on April 21, 1871, in Aachen, Rhenish Prussia, was a German opera composer and conductor. He studied piano and composition at the Hochschule in Berlin and privately with Engelbert Humperdinck. He began his career conducting at the Stadttheater Aachen in 1893. From 1899 to 1906, he conducted at the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague before moving to the Königliches Opernhaus in Berlin, where he was promoted to General Music Director in 1913. In 1937, due to Adolf Hitler's antisemitic policies, he fled to Riga, Latvia, and later conducted at the Stockholm Royal Opera during World War II. He returned to Berlin in 1949 to conduct at the Städtische Oper until 1953. Blech composed operas such as Aglaja (1893) and Cherubina (1894), along with orchestral, choral, chamber works, and songs. He made recordings for labels including Deutsche Grammophon and His Master's Voice. He passed away on August 25, 1958.
