# Josef Pasternack > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Josef_Pasternack > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Josef_Pasternack.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Pasternack > Source revision: 1353678838 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Polish conductor and composite (1881–1940)}} {{Other people|Pasternak|Pasternak}} {{more citations needed|date=October 2022}} thumb|Josef Pasternack (before 1911) '''Josef Alexander Pasternack''' (7 July 1881 – 29 April 1940) was a conductor and composer in the first half of the 20th century. ==Biography== [[File:"The Japanese Sandman" (1920), by Olive Kline and Josef Pasternack.oga|thumb|[Olive Kline](/source/Olive_Kline) performing "[The Japanese Sandman](/source/The_Japanese_Sandman)" in 1920 with Pasternack conducting]] He was born in [Częstochowa](/source/Cz%C4%99stochowa), [Poland](/source/Poland) in 1881, the eldest son of Sigmund and Dora Pasternack. He had two younger brothers, Samuel and David. His father and grandfather had been bandmasters in Poland and he began the study of the violin at age four, under his father's tutelage. At age ten he entered the [Warsaw Conservatory of Music](/source/Warsaw_Conservatory_of_Music), where he initially studied piano and composition. He also took up the study of a new instrument each month, so that by the time he left the Conservatory he could play every instrument in the orchestra except the harp.New York Times obituary April 30, 1940 At age 15 he came to the [United States](/source/United_States) with his two brothers and father. Initially he worked in a hotel restaurant as a busboy. One day when the violin player for the hotel band did not come to work, he informed the [bandleader](/source/bandleader) that he was capable of filling in. He ran home and got his violin and returned to play. The regular violinist was not allowed to return. He was able to convince the bandleader to permit his brothers to try out, and so they began their musical careers in America. Shortly thereafter, he toured the country as a concert pianist. In 1902, he was hired as viola player with the [Metropolitan Opera](/source/Metropolitan_Opera) Orchestra in New York and then became first [viola](/source/viola) player, continuing until 1909. His ability came to the attention of the famed [Arturo Toscanini](/source/Arturo_Toscanini), who had become principal conductor at the Met in 1908, and Pasternack was made assistant conductor in 1909, a position he filled for one year. In 1911 he returned to [Europe](/source/Europe) as conductor of the [Bremen Opera](/source/Bremen_Opera), but the Metropolitan asked for his release and he returned to the Met as a conductor for 1911-13. During the period 1913-26, he was conductor of the [Century Opera Company](/source/Century_Opera_Company) in New York, the [Chicago Symphony Orchestra](/source/Chicago_Symphony_Orchestra), the [Boston Symphony Orchestra](/source/Boston_Symphony_Orchestra), and the [Philadelphia Philharmonic Society](/source/Philadelphia_Philharmonic_Society). While at the Philadelphia Philharmonic, he introduced [Marian Anderson](/source/Marian_Anderson) as the first African-American singer to perform there. In 1916 he became music director of the [Victor Talking Machine Company](/source/Victor_Talking_Machine_Company) (later [RCA Victor](/source/RCA_Victor)) alongside [Rosario Bourdon](/source/Rosario_Bourdon), where likewise he (Pasternack) introduced Marian Anderson; and the Stanley Company of America, owned by [Warner Brothers](/source/Warner_Brothers). In his role at Victor and with several orchestras he made recordings and conducted programs for many famous singers and instrumentalists of the day, including [Enrico Caruso](/source/Enrico_Caruso), [Fritz Kreisler](/source/Fritz_Kreisler) and [Jascha Heifetz](/source/Jascha_Heifetz). From 1928 until his death in 1940 he conducted orchestras for [NBC Radio](/source/NBC_Radio), including a program with [Nelson Eddy](/source/Nelson_Eddy) and ''[The Carnation Contented Hour](/source/The_Carnation_Contented_Hour)''.{{cite journal|last1=Senseney|first1=Dan|title=What's New from Coast to Coast|journal=Radio and Television Mirror|date=August 1940|volume=14|issue=4|pages=38–39, 74|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Mirror/40/Mirror-1940-Aug.pdf|access-date=7 March 2015}} He composed songs and music for motion pictures and radio, and wrote the lyrics for "Taps". He was married in 1904 to Helen Feirman, and had two daughters, Florence and Cecile. On October 29, 1917, Pasternack recorded a version of [There's a Green Hill Out in Flanders (There's a Green Hill Up in Maine)](/source/There's_a_Green_Hill_Out_in_Flanders_(There's_a_Green_Hill_Up_in_Maine)) with singer Albert Wiederhold. The song was produced by [Victor Records](/source/Victor_Talking_Machine_Company).{{cite web |url=http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/700006112/B-21013-Theres_a_green_hill_out_in_Flanders |title=Victor matrix B-21013. There's a green hill out in Flanders / Albert Wiederhold |author= |website=Discography of American Historical Recordings |access-date=10 February 2016}} ==References== {{more footnotes needed|date=March 2011}} {{reflist}} ==External links== * [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110033 Josef Pasternack recordings] at the [Discography of American Historical Recordings](/source/Discography_of_American_Historical_Recordings). {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Pasternak, Josef}} Category:Polish male conductors (music) Category:People from Częstochowa Category:1881 births Category:1940 deaths Category:Chopin University of Music alumni Category:20th-century conductors (music) Category:20th-century male musicians Category:Emigrants from Congress Poland to the United States Category:Conductors of the Boston Pops --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Josef Pasternack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Pasternack) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Pasternack?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.