Alfred Plohn Józef Koffler

Alfred Plohn, Szkoła gry na cytrze [School of Zither Playing], Kraków 1914 (Polona)

Alfred Plohn

(1882–?)

music critic, organiser of musical life, and composer

But ill is the musician - this is well-known,
When he has no special reviewer of his own,
For a critic is someone who is always able
To criticize not art, but the musician's creed
So I'll add you a man who in that same "Chwila"
Will praise your every note, will make your life sweeter,
And will keep in his care your lightest tone
And thus was created critic Alfred Plohn.

Łątki Lwowskie. Trzy akty – Ludziom na złość. Napisało pięciu [Lwów Puppets. Three Acts – To Spite People. Written by Five], Lwów 1924, p. 74

He learned with Stanisław Niewiadomski and Maurycy Wolfsthal at the GTM Conservatoire, later at Teodor Pollak’s Piano Performance School, both in Lwów.

Koffler's dedication to Alfred Plohn. Copy of the score of 15 Variations d'après une suite de douze tons published by M. Senart from the collection of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music Library in Katowice.

Alfred Plohn'a address, in: Spis abonentów sieci telefonicznych państwowych i koncesjonowanych w Polsce (z wyjątkiem m. st. Warszawy) na 1938 r. [Directory of Subscribers of State and Licensed Telephone Networks in Poland (Excluding the Capital City of Warsaw) for 1938]

As a long-time music critic, he contributed to leading Lwów dailies such as Gazeta Wieczorna, Głos, Słowo Polskie, and Chwila.

Alfred Plohn, Praktyczna szkoła gry na mandolinie [Practical School of Mandolin Playing], Kraków 1911 (Polona)

In 1918–21 he acted as secretary in the editorial team of Gazeta Muzyczna journal, run by Stanisław Niewiadomski. He also collaborated with German and Austrian periodicals. He played a particularly important role in the Jewish circles, co-founding the Jewish Musical Society in Lwów (1919) and then presiding over it for many years. His publications include A School of Mandolin Playing (1911), A Practical School of Guitar Performance(1912), and A Zither School (1914).

Koffler and Plohn met in the context of their involvement in Lwów’s cultural life. For instance, both served on the Artistic Committee of the Jewish Academic Choir in November 1929. They are very likely to have collaborated on other projects as well. Plohn frequently wrote about Koffler and his musical output. He authored important surveys of Koffler’s achievements as a composer and his technique (printed in Chwila, 1931, and the Berlin-based Signale für die musikalische Welt, 1933).