Józef Koffler

Józef Koffler (1896–1944), born in Stryj, was the first Polish composer to adopt twelve-tone technique (dodecaphony) before the Second World War. He studied in Lviv (1914–16) and at the Academy of Music in Vienna (1918–24) under Paul Graener and Felix Weingartner, and from 1928 to 1941 taught at the Lviv Conservatory, where his composition pupils included Roman Haubenstock-Ramati. After the German occupation he and his family were confined to the Wieliczka ghetto and, following its liquidation, he is believed to have perished in early 1944 near Krosno; most of his unpublished scores were lost during the war. (No dedicated ucmfnyc.com profile page exists; this biography is compiled from public sources.)

Piano