Egon Pollak, famous Jewish musical conductor, died suddenly here last night while conducting the first act of Beethoven’s “Fidelio” at the Deutsches Theater. In the middle of the opening act, Pollak fainted. The opera was stopped and musicians carried their leader into the wings. A doctor was called, but Pollak never regained consciousness, dying within an hour of paralysis of the heart.
Pollak was 54. He was one of the most important figures in Germany’s musical world. At one time he was general musical director of the State Theater in Hamburg. He had conducted operas at Leipzig, Frankfurt, London and Paris.
American music lovers knew Pollak well. From 1915 to 1917 he led the Wagner performances of the Chicago Civic Opera Company, and in the Autumn of 1930 he returned to Chicago for the first season of the city’s new Civic Opera House.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
