Magnus Davidsohn

Magnus son David ( born November 2, 1877 in Bytom in Upper Silesia, † August 21, 1958 in Dusseldorf ) was an opera singer, music teacher and cantor at the synagogue Pheasant Road in Berlin.

Life

Magnus son David was the son of Hermann David 's son, who was cantor at the synagogue in Bytom over 40 years. After his education, he studied music history at the Friedrich- Wilhelms- University of Berlin and at the Music Academy of Berlin, and later he attended in Berlin Rabbinical Seminary. At 18, he became the first cantor, but then took the opportunity to become Angelo Neumann opera singer at the Deutsches Theater in Prague with the protection. Under the name Magnus Dawison he sang in 1899, Gustav Mahler, the bass part in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and the King Henry in Lohengrin.

After three years, David 's son left the Opera and was cantor at the synagogue in Gliwice. He married Harriet Cheerful, with whom he lived until her death in 1954. 1906, the daughter Ilse was born.

In 1912 he took the place of the chief cantor at the synagogue pheasant in Berlin -Charlottenburg, a position he held until 1938. During this time he became President of the General German cantor Association and editor of its journal The Jewish cantor. In addition, he worked as a teacher at the teacher training college of the Prussian State Association of Jewish communities.

1939 was forced to emigrate because of the Nazi Jewish policy to London David son. There son David was co-founder and from 1939 to 1956 cantor of the New Liberal Jewish Congregation (now Belsize Square Synagogue ), the only German-speaking Jewish community in London. Community leaders was Lily Montagu, Chief Rabbi was Georg Berger salt from Frankfurt am Main. David 's son was also head teacher at the Community School and editor of the church paper. He founded in the community a funeral society ( Chevra Kadisha ) whose first presidency and later honorary president he exercised.

On November 2, 1955 Son of David came as a surprise guest for his daughter Ilse Stanley in the U.S. television show This is Your Life radio station NBC.

He spent his last months of life in Dusseldorf with research on various Jewish and music history topics.

Works (selection)

• Meeting with Gustav Mahler. Central Club Newspaper, January 10, 1935, suppl. 1
• A teacher of Judaism. Max Abraham 's 50th birthday. in: Jewish Allgemeine Zeitung, April 9, 1954.
• It will not go down: Jewish liturgical chants from Berlin, Audio CD, Barbarossa ( Edel), 2005; Recordings of various artists, including David Magnus son