Josef Wagner (6)

Born in Germany, Josef Wagner [1909-1947] studied music in Breslau and Berlin, then lived as a pianist and composer in Breslau. He won the Bluthner Grand Piano prize in Dresden in 1930 and the Chopin prize in Warsaw in 1932. In 1933 he lost various positions with radio stations and concert companies because, although his parents were both Christian, his grandfather was Jewish. He emigrated to America with his wife and child in 1938. He played in concert and on radio stations and also taught in New York, Syracuse and St. Louis. He died young from an illness contracted while he was on tour in the Pacific.