Karl Pohlig (10 February 1864 – 17 June 1928) was a

German Bohemian German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part o ...

conductor born in

Teplitz Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The hist ...

, Bohemia, Austrian Empire. He studied cello and piano in Weimar, and later taught piano there. In 1901 in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

he became the first conductor to perform the complete version of

Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

's '' Symphony No. 6''. This symphony had been performed before in excerpts and in an edited-down version by

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

. Pohlig became conductor of the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

from 1907 to 1912. He invited

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

to make his U.S. debut with the orchestra in 1909. In 1912, he resigned in disgrace after the revelation that he was involved in an extramarital affair with his

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

secretary. However, Pohlig also sued the orchestra for breach of contract, as he had one year remaining on his contract at that time. He received a settlement of one year's salary. Smith, William Ander, ''The Mystery of Leopold Stokowski''. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1990, p. 33. Pohlig concluded his career as conductor of the

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

court opera in Germany, the city in which he died.

References

External links

A Thoroughly Modern Orchestra

Austrian conductors (music) Male conductors (music) American people of German Bohemian descent German emigrants to the United States German Bohemian people People from Teplice Musicians from Philadelphia Music directors of the Philadelphia Orchestra 1864 births 1928 deaths 19th-century German musicians 19th-century male musicians {{Germany-conductor-stub