What is Karl Böhm?
[[File:Karl Böhm (2).jpg|thumb|200px|right|Karl Böhm (1950)]] '''Karl Böhm''' (born [[Graz]], 28 August 1894; died [[Salzburg]], 14 August 1981) was an [[Austria]]n [[Conducting|conductor]]. He was one of the greatest conductors of the [[20th century]], especially famous for his conducting of the music of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]] and [[Richard Strauss]]. == Life == Böhm was born in [[Graz]], [[Austria]]. He wanted to be a musician, but his father said that he should study law first, because musicians did not make much money, and if he was not successful as a musician he could then always have a job in law.<ref>Karl Böhm: “Ich erinnere mich ganz genau – Autobiographie” dtv 1973 {{ISBN|3-423-00916-0}} p.7</ref> So he studied [[law]] at the university of Graz, and got a [[doctorate]] on this subject. He also studied music privately in Graz, and then in [[Vienna]] with [[Eusebius Mandyczewski]] and [[Guido Adler]]. Although he learned to play the piano and to compose, he just wanted to be a conductor. He started his career by helping singers at the Graz Opera to learn their roles. Böhm became very interested in the operas of Wagner and Mozart and learned a lot from great conductors like [[Carl Muck]] and [[Bruno Walter]] who invited him to the [[Bavarian State Opera]] in 1921. In 1927 he became Generalmusikdirektor (music director) at [[Darmstadt]]. He often conducted modern operas, including [[Alban Berg|Berg’s]] ''[[Wozzeck]]''. In 1931 he moved to Hamburg. In 1933 he conducted the [[Vienna Philharmonic]], both in opera and [[concert]] performances. He became conductor at the [[opera house]] in Dresden when [[Fritz Busch]] lost that job because he said he did not like the [[Nazi]]s. Böhm worked there for nine years. He became a great friend of the composer [[Richard Strauss]] and conducted the first performances of two of his operas there: ''[[Die schweigsame Frau]]'' and ''[[Daphne (opera)|Daphne]]''. In 1943 got the very important job of conductor at the [[Vienna State Opera