Great Orchestral Conductors of the Past
Arthur Nikisch, Hans von Bulow and Hans Richter
Nov 30, 2008
Three major musical figures on the concert stages of the nineteenth century were Hans von Bulow, Arthur Nikisch and Hans Richter. They were celebrated in their time and in many cases became the inspiration for those following them.
Hans von Bulow was also a brilliant concert pianist who, incidentally, became Franz Liszt's son-in-law when he married Cosima Liszt. He was also the earliest born of the three, first seeing the light of day on January 8,1830 in Dresden. Germany.
Hans von Bulow
This brilliant pianist/conductor was said to have been diminutive, bad tempered, intelligent, autocratic and the possessor of an acid tongue. He began his piano studies (against the wishes of his mother) and went to study with Louis Plaidy at the Leipzig Conservatory at the age of fifteen.
Although he met Franz Liszt in 1849 it was not until later that he became a piano student of the great Hungarian.
Bulow as Conductor
It was while listening to Liszt conduct Wagner's Lohengrin at Weimar in 1850 that Bulow decided that he would become an orchestral conductor. His greatest assignment was when he was made conductor for the world premiere of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde in Munich in 1865.
He went on to become one of the finest conductors of all time. His memory was prodigious and it was often remarked upon. Hans von Bulow, the great disciple of Richard Wagner, whose wife divorced him to become the wife of the same Richard Wagner, died at Cairo, Egypt, February 12, 1894, after a long and successful musical career.
Hans Richter
The second to be born of the trio was Richter who came into the world in Gyor, Hungary, on April 4,1843. He was chosen personally by Richard Wagner to be his copyist, which he became at the age of twenty-three. Richter, described as a stolid, slow-moving giant who was perhaps not too brilliant, seemed to be brilliant enough to be able to play most of the orchestral instruments...many at a professional level.
Conducting Career
Richter was never very far from Wagner's beck and call throughout his career and was chosen to conduct the complete Ring des Nibelungen at Bayreuth in1876. From that time on hew was extremely successful and divided his time between England and Vienna.
He founded the Richter Concerts in London in 1879, directed the concerts of the Birmingham Triennial Festivals and conducted the Halle Orchestra from 1900 to 1911. Hans Richter died at Bayreuth on December 5,1916.
Arthur Nikisch
The last, and possibly greatest conductor, Nikisch was born at Szent-Miklos, Hungary, on October 12,1855, and died at Leipzig, Germany, on January 23,1922. He was one of the first to conduct for recordings and in 1914 Nikisch conducted the Berlin Philharmonic in the Beethoven Fifth Symphony. He was the earliest-born conductor to record.
Arthur Nikisch was the matinee idol of his time, being a rather handsome man who wore fur coats and apparently cared only for music, playing cards and women, not necessarily in that order. Carl Flesch called him "intellectually primitive" but he had a way with orchestral musicians that brought out the best in them. He was said to have been a 'mesmerist' who could hypnotize the players into great performances even when they were exhausted.
Nikisch was also a true gentleman when it came to directing rehearsals. Unlike many other conductors who were known to have thrown their batons at the orchestra when angry, Nikisch never raise his voice. His usual approach was to say gently ,"Excuse me, gentlemen, but..." Perhaps his time as an orchestral player ( he was a violinist in the Vienna Court Orchestra, as well as being a fine pianist ) taught him that the pleasant approach resulted in a better performance.
Orchestras Nikisch Conducted
Like Leonard Bernstein, he was a success by the age of twenty-five, and in his lifetime conducted the Leipzig opera orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the Budapest Opera, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Berlin Philharmonic and made guest appearances with all the major orchestras.
He conducted with a miniscule beat and had no stage gyrations. George Szell once said of him, "he was in the best sense hypnotic and magic. You could not extricate yourself from his spell." Arthur Nikisch died at Leipzig on January 23, 1922.
Source
The Great Conductors Harold C.Schonberg Simon and Schuster 1967
For further reading about musicians see Three Famous Women Pianists
