Kurt Adler

For the Austrian and American conductor born in 1905, see Kurt Herbert Adler. For the German-American businessman, see Kurt S. Adler.

Kurt Adler
Born	(1907-03-01)March 1, 1907 Jindřichův Hradec, Austria-Hungary
Died	September 21, 1977(1977-09-21) (aged 70) Butler, New Jersey, United States
Citizenship	Austrian American
Education	University of Vienna (MA)
Occupations	Conductor, pianist, chorus master
Known for	Conductor and chorus master, New York Metropolitan Opera, 1943–1973

Kurt Adler (March 1, 1907 – September 21, 1977) was an Austrian and American conductor, chorusmaster, author and pianist. He was best known as the chorus master and lead conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1943 to 1973. He conducted orchestras in Europe, North America, Canada and Mexico.

Early life

Kurt Adler was born in Jindřichův Hradec, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic) to a bourgeois Jewish family. He was the only child of Siegfried Adler (born 1876), a textile factory owner, and Olga (Fürth) Adler (born 1882). Both parents were murdered by the Gestapo during World War II, after they were deported in 1942, from Vienna, Austria, to Izbica concentration camp, which served as a transfer camp, to the Bełżec extermination camp in occupied Poland on May 15, 1942. His paternal grandparents, Jakob and Eveline Adler are buried in Neuhaus (now Jindřichův Hradec), Hebrew Cemetery. His maternal grandparents, Albert and Katherine Fürth are buried in Sušice, Czech Republic.

During the 1930s many now-famous musicians, including Adler, emigrated to the United States to escape from Nazism. Adler left for the United States on October 9, 1938. He sailed from Rotterdam, Holland ,in 1938 on the SS Statendam. He was naturalized on March 21, 1944.

Education

Kurt Adler began studying music at age six under cantor Jacob Fürnberg, in Jindřichův Hradec. His first public appearance was at age fourteen.

His entire musical education was in Vienna, Austria. Among his teachers were Richard Robert, Fanny Boehm-Kramer, Alexander Manhart (1875–1936) (piano); Karl Weigl (1881–1949), Guido Adler (1855–1941), Wilhelm Fischer (1886–1962) (theory); Ferdinand Foll (1867–1929), Hermann Weigert (1890–1955), and Erich Kleiber (1890–1956) (conducting). In 1925, he graduated from the classical Akademisches Gymnasium, Vienna. In 1927, he earned a degree in musicology from the University of Vienna, corresponding to Master of Arts, Philosophical Faculty of the University of Vienna.

Career

Kurt Adler began his professional career in Germany on the musical staff of the Berlin State Opera. He later conducted at the New German Theatre in Prague and Städtische Oper in Berlin. He joined the Metropolitan Opera in 1943, under the management of Edward Johnson, then in conjunction with Rudolf Bing, from 1945 to 1973. He was chorusmaster and lead conductor.

Maestro Adler's press announcement upon his recruitment as chorusmaster of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City said, "That since Giulio Setti's time, ten years ago, there never has been a single chorusmaster for the entire Italian, French, German, English repertoire and with my appointment, the gradual reorganization and training will again be centralized in one hand."

Engagements

• 1927–1929 Assistant conductor, Berlin State Opera
• 1929–1932 Conductor, Prague German Opera Theater
• 1932–1933 Conductor, Berlin Municipal Opera House
• 1933–1938 Conducting symphony concerts and opera all over Europe
• 1933 Conductor of orchestral concerts, Musikverein, Vienna
• 1933 Founder of the Unio Opera Company, Vienna
• 1933–1935 First Conductor, Academic Opera and Ballet Theater of the USSR, Kyiv
• 1935–1937 Founder, musical director, and first conductor of the Symphonic Orchestra Stalingrad (Soviet Union)
• 1938–1943 U.S.A. Conducting concerts and concertizing as pianist all over U.S. and Canada
• 1938–1939 Pianist, three transcontinental tours of the United States
• 1939–1941 Musical director, Friendship House, New York City
• 1943 Assistant Conductor to Leopold Stokowski, Metropolitan Opera, New York City
• 1943–1973 Chorus Master, Conductor, Metropolitan Opera, New York City, New York (USA)
• 1944–1947 Musical director, Opera Nacional and Opera de Mexico, Mexico City
• 1952 Musical director, Central City Opera Festival, Central City, Colorado
• 1954 Musical director of opera performances at Greek Theatre, Hollywood, California
• Conductor of numerous broadcasts and television performances of operatic and symphonic music

Teaching positions

• 1929–1932 Organizer and Conductor of the Students Orchestra of the German Academy of Music (Deutsche Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Prag), Prague, Czechoslovakia
• 1934–1935 Conductor, orchestra of the Kyiv Conservatory of Music, Kyiv (Soviet Union)
• 1935–1937 Professor of the Opera class at the Conservatory of Music, Stalingrad (Soviet Union)
• 1938–1941 Teacher of piano, theory; classes in chamber music; coach; New York City

Publications

• 1943 Adler, K.: Songs of many wars, from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. New York, Howell, Soskin 1943, 221p. Edited and arranged by Kurt Adler. (A collection of fighting songs which oppressed people of all times and nation have sung in their fight against tyranny.)
• 1953–1956 Adler, K.: Operatic anthology: celebrated arias selected from operas by old and modern composers, in five volumes / compiled by Kurt Adler. New York, G. Schirmer c1953–1956. Edited and arranged by Kurt Adler.
• 1955 Adler, K.: Famous operatic choruses. New York, G. Schirmer c1955, Edited and arranged by Kurt Adler.
• 1956 Adler, K.: The Prima donna‘s album: 42 celebrated arias from famous operas. New York, G. Schirmer c1956, Edited and arranged by Kurt Adler.
• 1960 Adler, K.: Songs From Light Operas for soprano. New York, G. Schirmer 1960, Edited and arranged by Kurt Adler.
• 1965 Adler, K.: The art of accompanying and coaching. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press 1965.
• 1967Adler, K.: Phonetics and diction in singing: Italian, French, Spanish, German. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press 1967.
• 1968 Adler, K.: Duets from the great operas, for soprano and baritone. New York, G. Schirmer 1968, Edited and arranged by Kurt Adler.
• 1968 Adler, K.: Duets from the great operas, for soprano and tenor. New York, G. Schirmer, Edited and arranged by Kurt Adler.
• 1971 Adler, K.: The art of accompanying and coaching. New York, Da Capo Press
• 1974 Adler, K.: Phonetics and diction in singing: Italian, French, Spanish, German. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 2nd ed.
• 1975–1977 Adler, K.: Operatic anthology: celebrated arias selected from operas by old and modern composers, in five volumes / Edited and arranged by Kurt Adler. Rochester, N.Y., National Braille Association 1975–1977.
• 1976 Adler, K.: The art of accompanying and coaching. New York, Da Capo Press
• 1980 Adler, K.: The art of accompanying and coaching. New York, Da Capo Press
• 1985 Adler, K.: The art of accompanying and coaching. New York, Da Capo Press

Personal life

In 1937, Adler partnered with Nina Boldin (1912–2004) in Stalingrad, USSR, which produced a daughter, Ingrid.

On March 10, 1948, Adler married Irene Hawthorne (1917–1986) (birth name Irene McNutt), former prima ballerina soloist of the Metropolitan Opera.

On September 16, 1965, Adler married Christiane Tocco, which produced a daughter, Eveline (Eva).

On September 21, 1977, Adler died at home in his sleep, in Butler, New Jersey, of uremia/chronic glomerulonephritis.

His instruments were the piano, organ, harmonica, harpsichord, and celesta. Adler is a polyglot, able to speak a multitude of languages.

References

Sources

• Anon. (September 22, 1977). "Kurt Adler, 70, Conductor of 20 Different Operas at Met During 22 Years". The New York Times. p. D14. Retrieved November 2, 2026.
• "Siegfried Adler". Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database. Washington, D.C.: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "Olga Adler"
• "Artist's Questionnaire" (via folder in Box: OS 184). Metropolitan Opera Association Press Bureau. November 13, 1945. DTLPID: 5941670. Retrieved November 2, 2026 – via Center for Jewish History.
• "Press Announcement (manuscript)" (via folder in Box 1: "Correspondence and Clippings, 1922–1965, 2010". Identifier – DTLPID: 5921725). November 13, 1945. Retrieved November 2, 2026 – via Center for Jewish History.
• Mize, John Townsend Hinton, ed. (1951). "Adler, Kurt". The International Who Is Who in Music (5th Mid-Century). Chicago: Who Is Who in Music, Inc. LCCN 29007618. Retrieved November 2, 2026 – via Internet Archive.
• "One of the Props". Opera News (interview with Adler). Vol. 33, no. 13. January 25, 1969. pp. 27 (26–27).
• Slonimsky, Nicolas; Kuhn, Laura Diane, eds. (2001). "Adler, Kurt". Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Vol. 1 (Centennial ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. p. 21. ISBN 0-0286-5526-5. LCCN 00046375. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
• Urban, Václav (2007). Kurt Adler: 1907 Neuhaus – 1977 New York (PDF) (in Czech) (1st ed.). Kostelní Radouň: Neuhaus. ISBN 978-8-0871-0700-3.
• Urban, Václav (2009). Kurt Adler: ein Leben für die Musik [Kurt Adler. A Life Devoted to Music]. Neue Wege, vol. 2 (in German). Translated by Hana Pfalzová. Regensburg: ConBrio Verlag. ISBN 978-3-9407-6813-1.
• "Kurt Adler", New York, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794–1943, declaration nos. 425401–426400, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Box 291; Roll 547
  • "Declaration no. 425657; Declaration date & place: December 14, 1938, New York City" (digital image 259 of 1013) – via Ancestry.com.
  • Petitions for Naturalization from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York: Kurt Adler, Declarations of Intention for Citizenship, 1842–1959 (Declaration Nos. 499439–470590), National Archives and Records Administration, Northeast Region, Bayonne, New Jersey, Box 878; Roll 547; Image Group No. (aka DGS): 7307834; Affiliate Film No. 1554; Affiliate Publication No. M1972
  • "Declaration no. 470355; Declaration date & place: October 9, 1938, New York City" (digital images 546–547 of 1188) – via FamilySearch.
  • "Declaration no. 425657; Declaration date & place: December 14, 1938, New York City" (digital images 543–545 of 1188) – via FamilySearch.
  • New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925–1958, List of Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States Immigrant Inspector at Port of Arrival: Dutch SS Statendam. Departing Rotterdam October 1, 1938, arriving Port of New York October 9, 1938. Line 1: "Adler, Kurt". Roll 6231: Vols. 13416 (October 7, 1938) – 13417 (October 9, 1938); Image Group No. (aka DGS): 4876360; National Archives and Records Administration Microfilm Publication T715
  • "Via FamilySearch" (digital image 698 of 847).

Adler completed his Naturalization upon Oath of Allegiance, sworn in open court on March 22, 1944; Petition was granted and Certificate of Naturalization, Line 24 P3, List no. 14860, Certificate no. 5909352 was issued.

Further reading

• 1997 Rudolf M. Wlaschek: Biographia Judaica Bohemiae, 2 vol., Dortmund: Forschungsstelle Ostmitteleuropa, 1997, 75 pages, ISBN 978-3-923293-57-5
• 1995 Walter Pass, Gerhard Scheit, Wilhelm Svoboda: Orpheus im Exil – Die Vertreibung der österreichischen Musik von 1938 bis 1945, Wien: Verlag fur Gesellschaftskritik, 1995, 409 pages, ISBN 978-3-85115-200-5
• 1989 Alain Pâris: Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l'interprétation musicale au XXe siècle, Paris: Éditions Robert Laffont, 1989. 906 pages, ISBN 2-221-50323-6
• 1982 John L. Holmes: Conductors on Record, London: Victor Gollancz, 1982, 734 pages, ISBN 0-575-02781-9
• 1979 Index to music necrology: supplement to the 1977 necrology, Notes (Music Library Association), 1979, 855 pages.
• 1978 "Kurt Adler – obituary", in: Opera News, February 4, 1978, p. 30

External links

• Václav Urban. "Kurt Adler (1907–1977)". neuhaus.cz (in Czech).
• "Adler's performances at the Metropolitan Opera". Metropolitan Opera Archives.
• "Kurt Adler Materials 1922–2015". Chelsea, Manhattan: Center for Jewish History. AR 25716.