Born in
Vienna,
Austria, Salmhofer came from a modest background, his father being a pianist and his mother a cook. His father became an invalid following service in the First World War and his son had to use his musical talent to assist in providing for the family. Salmhofer was educated at the
Admont Abbey in the province of
Styria from 1909-1914, where he was a choirboy, and in 1916 went on to study musicology, clarinet and composition at the Institute for Musicology at the
University of Vienna where he was a pupil of
Franz Schreker,
Franz Schmidt and
Guido Adler. He was part of a class that included
Ernst Krenek,
Wilhelm Grosz,
Karol Rathaus,
Joseph Rosenstock, , ,
Paul Pisk and
Jascha Horenstein. Thereafter he worked as a choir conductor and organist. In 1929 he was appointed
Kapellmeister of the
Burgtheater where he served until 1945 when he became the first post-war Director of the
Vienna State Opera, a post he filled until 1953. In this position he worked at several temporary locations until the war-damaged Opera House could be restored. Thereafter he was Director of the
Vienna Volksoper until his retirement in 1963.
Director of the State Opera Salmhofer's appointment as the post-War Director of the Vienna State Opera in 1945 came as somewhat of a surprise, but can be attributed to several factors. His predecessor,
Karl Böhm, a friend of
Joseph Goebbels, had been removed due to his Nazi sympathies. Salmhofer had not been a Nazi sympathiser and his works had come close to being banned during that period. In addition he had had to protect his first wife whose background did not comply with the Nazi race laws. His time at the Burgteater had also given him wide experience in managing a theatre and he had a considerable reputation as a composer and musician and was known for his fervent love of Austria, an advantage during the period of revival of national identity. The first post-war performance of the Staatsoper, Mozart's Figaro, took place at the Volksoper under the baton of Salmhofer and at the request of the Russian occupying forces on 1 May 1945. As a director he was able to revive the theatre that had been damaged during allied bombing of Vienna and which was temporarily relocated to the
Theater an der Wien, where it remained for the following decade. == Music ==