Richard von Perger was an Austrian composer, conductor, and music educator. He was born in Vienna on 10 January 1854 and died there on 11 January 1911. He was the son of the painter and writer Anton von Preger, and his brother was the chemist Hugo von Perger.
Perger studied cello with Franz Schmidtler and composition with Leopold Alexander Zellner. From 1880 to 1882 he studied with Johannes Brahms with financial support. He later wrote a biography of Brahms, and he was present at the graves of Brahms and Johann Strauss II.
Drawn to the German Opera in Rotterdam, Perger moved to the city. In 1890, following Friedrich Gernsheim, he became a teacher at the music school and directed the Society for the Promotion of Music. He was succeeded by Anton Verheij in 1895, when he returned to Vienna.
In Vienna, Perger became concert director of the Society of the Friends of Music in Vienna and also directed the Vienna Conservatory from 1899 to 1907. From 1899 to 1901, alongside Eduard Kremser, he conducted the Vienna Men's Choral Society.
His compositions include serenades, including a trio serenade and a serenade for cello and orchestra, part-songs, and stage works. His operas and other theatrical works include The Judge of Granada (1889), The Fourteen Holy Helpers (1891), and The Steel Castle (1903).
With Robert Hirschfeld, Perger wrote History of the Society of the Friends of Music, published in 1912. He also contributed articles to the Vienna Newspaper. His students included Dirk Schäfer, Marinus Cornelis van de Rovaart, Carel Drukker, and Barend de Bruin. In 1904 he was appointed an officer of the Paris Academy of Fine Arts.