He was the son of Jakob Stolz, a conductor and music teacher, and Ida Bondy, a concert pianist. He gave his first public piano concert at the age of seven with a family friend, Johannes Brahms, in the audience. Later he studied with Fuchs at the Vienna Conservatory and with Humperdinck in Berlin. His encounter with Johann Strauss in 1899 encouraged him to write light music and operettas. His first operetta was Studentenulke in 1899. In 1907 Robert Stolz became conductor at the Theater an der Wien, where he led the most popular operettas of his time, but his first great achievement was his song "Servus du!" In 1940 he travelled to the USA to compose music for Hollywood films. His film music was nominated for two Academy Awards. In 1946, he returned to Vienna, where he wrote music for an ice revue every year from 1952 to 1971. He was a passive philatelist and wrote "Philatelic Waltzes" in honour of all stamp collectors.
