Emmerich Kálmán (Siófok, October 24, 1882 - Paris, October 30, 1953), also known as Imre Kálmán, was a Hungarian composer of operettas. Kálmán was born in Siófok, on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, Hungary (formerly in the Austro-Hungarian Empire) in a Jewish family. Kálmán had initially intended to become a concert pianist, but because of early-onset arthritis, he instead started focusing on composition. He studied music theory and composition at the National Hungarian Royal Academy of Music (then the Budapest Academy of Music)