Joseph Wechsberg

Joseph Wechsberg, a contributor to The New Yorker and author of a dozen books on subjects ranging from music to contemporary history, died Sunday at his home in Vienna. He was 75 years old. William Shawn, the editor of The New Yorker, commented yesterday: ''Joseph Wechsberg wrote more than 150 pieces for The New Yorker, including many memorable Profiles and Letters from various parts of Europe. He was an ardent and tireless reporter, a writer of enormous charm, a New Yorker institution.''

Mr. Wechsberg was born in Ostrava, Czechoslavakia, studied at the Vienna State Academy of Music and the Sorbonne, and graduated from the University of Prague law school. After practicing law, he worked as a violinist and orchestra leader on ocean liners and in Paris nightclubs. In 1938, he became a freelance journalist and later turned his experiences into memorable magazine articles. 

Mr. Wechsberg served briefly in the Czech Army before coming to the United States shortly before World War II. He became a lieutenant in the United States Army's psychological warfare division. After the war, he began to write for The New Yorker. His last piece for the magazine appeared in 1975.

Mr. Wechsberg's books included ''Looking for a Bluebird,'' ''Vienna, My Vienna,'' ''Prague, the Mystical City,'' ''The Glory of the Violin'' and ''The Merchant Bankers.'' He is survived by his wife, Jo-Ann, and a daughter, Josephine, both of Vienna.