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Hans von Bülow: A Life and Times
Hans von Bulow is a key figure in 19th century music whose career path was as broad as it was successful. Music history's first virtuoso orchestral conductor, Bulow created the model for the profession-both in musical brilliance and in domineering personality-which still holds forth today. He was an eminent and renowned concert pianist, a respected (and often feared) teacher and music critic, an influential editor of works by Bach, Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Beethoven, and a composer in a variety of musical genres. As a student and son-in-law of Franz Liszt, and estranged friend of Richard Wagner (for whom his wife Cosima famously left him), Bulow is intricately connected with the canonical greats of the period. Yet despite his critical and lasting importance for orchestral music, Bulow's life and significant achievements have yet to be heralded in biographical form.
In Hans von Bulow: A Life and Times, Alan Walker, the acclaimed author of numerous award-winning books on the era's iconic composers, provides the first full-length English biography of this remarkable musical figure. Walker traces Bulow's life in illuminating and engaging detail, from the first piano lessons of his boyhood days, to his first American tour, to his last days as conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. Unearthing Bulow's extensive and previously unavailable correspondence and writings, Walker conveys amusing and informative anecdotes about this unique musical legend- from his sardonic and clever personality to his meticulous devotion to his work-and reveals enlightening insights on the still-contested sensibilities of musical-compositional style and "idea" at play in the vibrant musical world of which Bulowwas a part.
In Hans von Bulow: A Life and Times, Alan Walker, the acclaimed author of numerous award-winning books on the era's iconic composers, provides the first full-length English biography of this remarkable musical figure. Walker traces Bulow's life in illuminating and engaging detail, from the first piano lessons of his boyhood days, to his first American tour, to his last days as conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. Unearthing Bulow's extensive and previously unavailable correspondence and writings, Walker conveys amusing and informative anecdotes about this unique musical legend- from his sardonic and clever personality to his meticulous devotion to his work-and reveals enlightening insights on the still-contested sensibilities of musical-compositional style and "idea" at play in the vibrant musical world of which Bulowwas a part.
544 pages, Hardcover
First published July 20, 2009
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About the author
Alan Walker
216 books34 followersAlan Walker’s definitive three-volume biography of Liszt, Franz Liszt, received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in Biography and the Royal Philharmonic Society Book Award, among others. His writing has appeared in journals such as The Musical Quarterly, The Times Literary Supplement, and Times Educational Supplement. A professor emeritus at McMaster University, Walker was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1986 and was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 7, 2018
This is the first full biography of this influential musician to appear in English, filling an important gap in the history of late nineteenth century music.
Bulow (1830 – 1894) studied both jurisprudence and music and, after the predictable conflict with his family, bolstered by letters of support from Liszt and Wagner, was able to devote his subsequent life exclusively to music. He studied piano and conducting with Liszt in Weimar and subsequently established himself as a pianist and teacher in Berlin, where he wed Liszt’s daughter, Cosima. Called to Munich by Wagner, who had become the recipient of the devoted patronage of Ludwig II, for five years he served as court pianist and conductor, presenting the premiers of Wagner’s Tristan and Meistersinger. In Munich Cosima’s affections were quickly transferred to Wagner, whom she bore two daughters, the first claimed by Bulow as his own child, the second tacitly acknowledged as Wagner’s. The scandal eventually ended both Wagner’s and Bulow’s careers in Munich in 1869. The trauma of Munich shadowed Bulow for the rest of his life; places and dates associated with Wagner or Cosima caused him mental distress and often physical ailments. His subsequent musical career was one of Olympian accomplishments with tours of Europe and America as a pianist, close friendships and collaborations with Brahms and Tchaikovsky, mentorship of Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler, and the establishment of the Meiningen and Berlin orchestras as virtuoso ensembles.
Bulow seems to have been incapable of withholding or softening any critical remark having to do with music, either in composition, performance, pedagogy, or reception. His comments are almost always phrased with caustic wit, making them memorable and adding to their sting. Some examples from Walker’s book:
To a tenor performing Lohengrin under Bulow’s baton: “You are no Knight of the Swan but a Knight of the Swine.”
On the audiences for his recital tour of the US: “The further West you go, the more convinced you become that the Three Wise Men came from the East.”
Bulow could also deliver his invective without words, purely through musical allusion. During one of his concerts, after a particularly unpleasant soprano solo, he sat and the piano to play the next piece, but opened by playing the notes of the opening vocal recitative from Beethoven’s Ninth: “O friends, no more of these sounds!”
Bulow did not necessarily spare his own feelings in delivering a riposte. At a party in London a woman making his acquaintance asked him “Oh! Monsieur von Bulow, vous connaissez Monsieur Wagner, n’est-ce pas?” Such inquiries were the cause of eruptions of temper at other times, but in this case he replied, “Mais oui, Madame, c’est le mari de ma femme.”
Walker cites a number of contemporary accounts of Bulow’s pianism, enough to give some idea of his technique (I imagine something like the crystalline accuracy of Pollini) but, as with all musicians from the days before recording, the exact nature of his interpretations is elusive. The aural image of the orchestral sound he produced as a conductor receives less documentation and is therefore even more nebulous. Listeners most often commented on the precision of the players, something that is expected nowadays as a matter of course in the top orchestras, thanks in some part, no doubt, to Bulow’s pioneering efforts.
Walker has an eye for details which add vividness to an incident or place. His description of a Polish count’s insistence that rooms be kept near the freezing point “on grounds of health” allows the reader to feel the acute misery of Bulow’s brief employment as private music teacher in Poland. His description of how Frankfurt musicians were forced to declare allegiance to one of two rival conservatories in that city is reminiscent of the citizens of Eatanswill in “The Pickwick Papers”.
My main problem with Walker is that, once he has undertaken to be a subject’s biographer he also becomes their advocate. Having written his magisterial three volume biography of Liszt, he seems incapable of interpreting Liszt’s behavior in anything but the most favorable light. This indulgence has now been extended to Bulow, whose many positive traits are emphasized, but whose negative side is downplayed or, I suspect, minimized. In his introductory chapter Walker attempts to inoculate Bulow for charges of anti-Semitism by putting it within the context of the prejudices of the time, as well as that of more recent American figures; he also justifies Bulow with a version of the “some of his best friends were Jewish” defense. Shelves, if not bookcases have been filled with commentary on Wagner’s anti-Semitism and I won’t attempt to say whether Walker’s defense of Bulow is adequate, but what did strike me is that, after this introduction, there are no anti-Semitic incidents or comments detailed in Walker’s narrative of Bulow’s life. I can only think that Walker, after feeling the need for the opening apologia, did not want to alienate the reader’s sympathies by describing the behavior that made the apology necessary.
Bulow (1830 – 1894) studied both jurisprudence and music and, after the predictable conflict with his family, bolstered by letters of support from Liszt and Wagner, was able to devote his subsequent life exclusively to music. He studied piano and conducting with Liszt in Weimar and subsequently established himself as a pianist and teacher in Berlin, where he wed Liszt’s daughter, Cosima. Called to Munich by Wagner, who had become the recipient of the devoted patronage of Ludwig II, for five years he served as court pianist and conductor, presenting the premiers of Wagner’s Tristan and Meistersinger. In Munich Cosima’s affections were quickly transferred to Wagner, whom she bore two daughters, the first claimed by Bulow as his own child, the second tacitly acknowledged as Wagner’s. The scandal eventually ended both Wagner’s and Bulow’s careers in Munich in 1869. The trauma of Munich shadowed Bulow for the rest of his life; places and dates associated with Wagner or Cosima caused him mental distress and often physical ailments. His subsequent musical career was one of Olympian accomplishments with tours of Europe and America as a pianist, close friendships and collaborations with Brahms and Tchaikovsky, mentorship of Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler, and the establishment of the Meiningen and Berlin orchestras as virtuoso ensembles.
Bulow seems to have been incapable of withholding or softening any critical remark having to do with music, either in composition, performance, pedagogy, or reception. His comments are almost always phrased with caustic wit, making them memorable and adding to their sting. Some examples from Walker’s book:
To a tenor performing Lohengrin under Bulow’s baton: “You are no Knight of the Swan but a Knight of the Swine.”
On the audiences for his recital tour of the US: “The further West you go, the more convinced you become that the Three Wise Men came from the East.”
Bulow could also deliver his invective without words, purely through musical allusion. During one of his concerts, after a particularly unpleasant soprano solo, he sat and the piano to play the next piece, but opened by playing the notes of the opening vocal recitative from Beethoven’s Ninth: “O friends, no more of these sounds!”
Bulow did not necessarily spare his own feelings in delivering a riposte. At a party in London a woman making his acquaintance asked him “Oh! Monsieur von Bulow, vous connaissez Monsieur Wagner, n’est-ce pas?” Such inquiries were the cause of eruptions of temper at other times, but in this case he replied, “Mais oui, Madame, c’est le mari de ma femme.”
Walker cites a number of contemporary accounts of Bulow’s pianism, enough to give some idea of his technique (I imagine something like the crystalline accuracy of Pollini) but, as with all musicians from the days before recording, the exact nature of his interpretations is elusive. The aural image of the orchestral sound he produced as a conductor receives less documentation and is therefore even more nebulous. Listeners most often commented on the precision of the players, something that is expected nowadays as a matter of course in the top orchestras, thanks in some part, no doubt, to Bulow’s pioneering efforts.
Walker has an eye for details which add vividness to an incident or place. His description of a Polish count’s insistence that rooms be kept near the freezing point “on grounds of health” allows the reader to feel the acute misery of Bulow’s brief employment as private music teacher in Poland. His description of how Frankfurt musicians were forced to declare allegiance to one of two rival conservatories in that city is reminiscent of the citizens of Eatanswill in “The Pickwick Papers”.
My main problem with Walker is that, once he has undertaken to be a subject’s biographer he also becomes their advocate. Having written his magisterial three volume biography of Liszt, he seems incapable of interpreting Liszt’s behavior in anything but the most favorable light. This indulgence has now been extended to Bulow, whose many positive traits are emphasized, but whose negative side is downplayed or, I suspect, minimized. In his introductory chapter Walker attempts to inoculate Bulow for charges of anti-Semitism by putting it within the context of the prejudices of the time, as well as that of more recent American figures; he also justifies Bulow with a version of the “some of his best friends were Jewish” defense. Shelves, if not bookcases have been filled with commentary on Wagner’s anti-Semitism and I won’t attempt to say whether Walker’s defense of Bulow is adequate, but what did strike me is that, after this introduction, there are no anti-Semitic incidents or comments detailed in Walker’s narrative of Bulow’s life. I can only think that Walker, after feeling the need for the opening apologia, did not want to alienate the reader’s sympathies by describing the behavior that made the apology necessary.
March 29, 2020
True to Walker's other writings on major musical figures, this highly readable biography spotlights this pivotal and important figure of European musical establishment and gives the reader great detail and insight into this phenomenal artist and somewhat troubled man.
August 5, 2015
Perhaps it's mean to give only four stars, on the grounds that there is so much detail, fascinating in itself, but which gets in the way of the narrative, especially because Bulow was probably the most honourable of the prominent European musical greats of the mid-19th century, as well as being unfairly eclipsed by more starry characters such as Wagner. His name had figured largely in my musical consciousness for forty years before this spectacular book appeared, while my bookshelf of musical biographies had been filling up with ever more extensive lives of Liszt, his father-in-law, and Wagner, who stole Liszt's daughter Cosima from him. Well, the lacuna has been most honourably filled, and perhaps it is the fate of all great first-time biographers to indulge in overkill. Next time, a successor biographer will have the luxury of being able to browse in Mr Walker's Elysian fields without needing to bite off every delicious morsel.
December 13, 2010
Alan Walker's usual superb musical scholarship and superior writing are enlisted in the only English language biography to date of one of the musical giants of the 19th century. von Bulow was one of the greatest pianists and arguably the greatest conductor of the 19th century as well as the model for all modern conductors who followed.
A must read for all of the devotees of the music and musicians of that era.
A must read for all of the devotees of the music and musicians of that era.
December 13, 2025
A crowning achievement from Walker after his epic trilogy about Franz Liszt. I never imagined that I would read a biography about von Bülow, but I am grateful for this fantastic piece. Bülow's immense talent, difficult personality, and complicated relationship with Richard Wagner all contribute to a compelling read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews