Carl Melles, born Melles Károly on July 15, 1926, in Budapest, Hungary, was an esteemed Austrian orchestral conductor of Hungarian descent. He pursued his musical education in Budapest and began his career as a conductor with the Hungarian State Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra of Hungarian Radio and Television. From 1954 to 1956, he also served as a professor at the Budapest Academy of Music. Following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Melles moved to Luxembourg, where he conducted the Radio Orchestra of Luxembourg from 1958 to 1960.

Melles eventually settled in Vienna, Austria, where he became a prominent conductor with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and frequently conducted for Austrian Radio. His notable work includes conducting Wagner's "Tannhäuser" at the 1966 Bayreuth Festival. Throughout his career, he was recognized for his contributions to music, receiving the Great Silver Medal of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria in 1995 and the Franz Liszt Prize in 1953.

In his personal life, Carl Melles was married to Hungarian noblewoman Judith von Rohonczy, and they had a daughter, Sunnyi Melles, who became an actress. Carl Melles passed away on April 25, 2004, in Vienna, and was buried at Hietzing Cemetery.