Karl Alwin often Carl Alwin (formerly known as Alwin Oskar Pinkus; 15 April 1891 – 15 October 1945) was a German

orchestra conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary ...

Biography

Alwin was born in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

. He studied philosophy, literature and music in Berlin alongside his friends Engelbert Humperdinck and

Hugo Kaun Hugo Wilhelm Ludwig Kaun (21 March 1863 – 2 April 1932) was a German composer, conductor, and music teacher. Biography Kaun was born in Berlin, Germany and completed his musical training in his native city. In 1886 (or 1887), he left Germany fo ...

. After his education, he worked from 1910 at the Berlin Court Opera and from 1912 in

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...

as an assistant. He then started his career as a conductor in 1913 in

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the Germany, German States of ...

, 1914 in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

, 1915–1917 in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

and then until 1920 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. From 1920 to 1938 he conducted at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

until after the takeover by the Nazis due to a professional disqualification became unoccupied. Because of his Jewish origin, Alwin had to emigrate to the United States. He worked for the

Chicago Civic Opera The Civic Opera Company (1922–1931) was a Chicago company that produced seven seasons of grand opera in the Auditorium Theatre from 1922 to 1928, and three seasons at its own Civic Opera House from 1929 to 1931 before falling victim to financia ...

but after the season of 1939/40, he moved to Mexico and conducted in Mexico City at the Opera Nacional from 1941 until his death there in 1945. He also taught at the State Conservatory. From 1920 to 1933 he was married to the soprano

Elisabeth Schumann Elisabeth Schumann (13 June 1888 – 23 April 1952) was a German soprano who sang in opera, operetta, oratorio, and lieder. She left a substantial legacy of recordings. Career Born in Merseburg, Schumann trained for a singing career in B ...

.Susanne Blumesberger, Michael Doppelhofer, Gabriele Mauthe: ''Handbook of Austrian Authors of Jewish Origin 18th to 20th Century'', volume 1: A–I. Edited by the Austrian National Library. Saur, Munich 2002,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alwin, Karl 1891 births 1945 deaths Musicians from Königsberg German conductors (music) Jewish emigrants from Austria to the United States after the Anschluss