Hans Guido von Bülow

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(b Dresden, 8 Jan 1830; d Cairo, 12 Feb 1894). German conductor and pianist. He studied with Wieck, Eberwein and Hauptmann, becoming a champion of the New German School and meeting Liszt at Weimar in 1849. He sought out Wagner in 1850, studied under Liszt from 1851 and made his first concert tour in 1853; he married Liszt's daughter Cosima in 1857. As conductor of the Munich Court Opera he gave the premières of Tristan und Isolde (1865) and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1868). Cosima left him for Wagner in 1869. From 1872 he toured again as a pianist, giving the première of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto (dedicated to him) in Boston (1875). He transformed the Meiningen court orchestra (1880-85) into one of the best in Germany. His playing was distinguished by its passionate intellectuality.

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1830-1894.

German pianist and conductor considered to be the first modern virtuoso conductor. He was instrumental in popularizing the works of Brahms and Wagner.

• Period: Romantic (1820-1869)
• Born: January 08, 1830 in Dresden, Germany
• Died: February 12, 1894 in Cairo, Egypt

Biography

Hans Guido von Bülow was one of the inventors of the archetype of the star conductor; he was probably the first to become a star musician interpreting the orchestral music of others. He had early piano and composition studies, numbering among his teachers Friedrich Wieck and Louis Plaidy, and consulted with Liszt. He was intended for a law career, but he heard Wagner conduct Lohengrin in 1850, making von Bülow determined to conduct even though he realized he lacked the creative spark for composition. Wagner found in von Bülow a superior talent to Karl Ritter, who he had promoted into musical leadership in Zürich. von Bülow was also more in accord with Wagner's intentions, so Wagner backed von Bülow while undercutting Ritter, leading to von Bülow conducting his first opera, Il barbiere di seviglia, in 1850. He took the unprecedented step of memorizing entire scores of the works he conducted and led extended and painstaking rehearsals, which resulted in his dismissal.

In 1857, he married Cosima, daughter of Franz Liszt and the Countess d'Agoult, while subsisting as guest conductor and pianist. In 1864, the new King Ludwig II of Bavaria, passionately devoted to Wagner's music, summoned von Bülow to Munich to premiere the new opera Tristan und Isolde. The occasion was a musical triumph, but a personal disaster. Wagner repaid von Bülow's personal and musical devotion by seducing his wife. von Bülow was, as they say, "the last to know," as malicious cartoons appeared in the newspapers and gossip ran wild. Finally, Wagner and Cosima eloped, leaving von Bülow as music history's leading cuckold.

von Bülow did not work with Wagner again, although he still conducted his music. He became the conductor of the Court Theater in Hannover and conductor of the Court Orchestra of Meiningen in 1878, where he was a tireless supporter of Brahms. He only guest conducted after leaving Meiningen in 1885. Growing ill with a lung ailment, he retired to Cairo, where he hoped the dry climate would be good for his health. He used the occasion of his last concert with the Berlin Philharmonic to strenuously attack the militaristic policies of the Bismark government. ~ Joseph Stevenson, All Music Guide