Karl Pohlig

Who was Karl Pohlig?

Karl Pohlig was a German Bohemian conductor born in Teplitz, Bohemia, Austrian Empire. He studied cello and piano in Weimar, and later taught piano there. In 1901 in Stuttgart he became the first conductor to perform the complete version of Bruckner's Symphony No. 6. This symphony had been performed before in excerpts and in an edited-down version by Gustav Mahler.

Pohlig became conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1907 to 1912. He invited Sergei Rachmaninoff 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 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. Pohlig concluded his career as conductor of the Braunschweig court opera in Germany, the city in which he died.