A German pianist, composer, conductor, and educator. Born in Dresden on January 8, 1830. As exemplified by Francis Planté, from the 1830s onwards, pianists increasingly became "interpreters" who performed the works of their predecessors, with some no longer prioritizing composition. Bülow was one such figure, known as the premiere performer of Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor and one of Liszt's most important disciples. In Japan, he is generally known as the editor of Cramer's etudes (the so-called "Cramer-Bülow"). Furthermore, Bülow gained international renown, particularly as the conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Below is an outline of his biography.

1. Boyhood

At the age of nine, he received piano lessons from Miss Cäcilie Schmiedel and theory training from Max Eberwein. Although he would later study with Franz Liszt, he had already met Liszt at home in his teens, as his parents were acquainted with the composer. During his youth, he frequently attended performances of Wagner's own works and Beethoven's compositions. His parents allowed him to study at the Leipzig Conservatory on the condition that he continue his studies at the Gymnasium and university. Hans studied piano with Louis Plaidy (1810–1874, professor at the Leipzig Conservatory from 1843) and harmony and counterpoint with Moritz Hauptmann. In his early teens at the Conservatory, he mastered concertos by John Field and Hummel, etudes by Ignaz Moscheles and Czerny, Mendelssohn's Rondo Capriccioso, and works by Adolf von Henselt, among others. In 1845, he briefly studied with Friedrich Wieck (Clara Schumann's father).

2. Student Years – Path to Music

The family moved to Stuttgart, where they spent a year and a half. His parents then sent him to Leipzig University from 1848 to pursue a law degree. However, differences in political and religious beliefs led to their divorce following the Dresden Uprising in May 1849. Bülow transferred to the University of Berlin, embarking on a new life. During this period, he visited Weimar, re-encountered Liszt, and was deeply impressed by Liszt as a conductor and pianist. In 1850, still filled with excitement, Bülow again departed for Weimar. Hearing Liszt conduct Wagner's Lohengrin, he made up his mind to abandon law and devote himself to music, against his parents' wishes. Fortuitously, he secured assistant conductor positions for Wagner in Zurich and St. Gallen. Despite his mother's strong opposition, Wagner and Liszt also wrote letters of persuasion, but they could not appease her feelings.

Liszt, who served as Court Kapellmeister in Weimar, recognized Bülow's potential as a pianist. He invited Bülow to Weimar, and in 1851, their teacher-disciple relationship was established. Bülow under Liszt's tutelage primarily studied Beethoven's late sonatas and works by Chopin and Schumann. At the same time, he diligently practiced Czerny's etudes for technical training. In 1853, Liszt acknowledged him as a full-fledged virtuoso, and he achieved success on concert tours in Germany, Austria, and Hungary. His father passed away that same year.

He began giving piano lessons to the daughter of Polish nobleman Count Teodor Micielski, but his students were unmotivated, which disillusioned Bülow. In 1854, Berlioz visited Dresden (Bülow had already encountered Berlioz's major works at the Berlioz Festival in Weimar). Speaking fluent French, Bülow established a relationship with him and conducted works such as La Damnation de Faust in Dresden.

3. Fateful Marriage and Suffering

Around this time, he was offered a piano professorship at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin. This position had been held by Theodor Kullak, who left the school due to discord with colleagues. This appointment, which he took up in April 1855, guaranteed Bülow a stable financial foundation. Meanwhile, to introduce new instrumental repertoire to the Berlin music scene, which was dominated by Italian opera, he performed chamber music by César Franck, Robert Volkmann, Liszt, and Schumann, among others, diligently promoting contemporary composers. His premiere of Liszt's Piano Sonata on January 22, 1857, was another significant contribution during this period. In due course, Liszt's two daughters, Cosima and Blandine, visited Berlin and began taking lessons from Bülow. Bülow and Cosima grew close, leading to their marriage in 1857. Liszt's son, Daniel, who became a relative through this marriage, visited the Bülows in 1859 to spend the summer holidays. However, Daniel fell ill and died there in November at the age of 20. Bülow continued his work stoically, both during Daniel's illness and after his death. Bülow's cold demeanor hurt Cosima's feelings towards her husband and became a catalyst for the deterioration of their relationship. Nevertheless, as if to compensate for their grief, their daughter Daniela was born in 1860. Their eldest daughter was named after the deceased Daniel. However, in 1862, Cosima's sister Blandine also passed away. The Bülows' child born in 1863 was named Blandine. By this time, however, Cosima had grown distrustful of her unloving husband and did not even inform him of her pregnancy. In 1863, Wagner visited Berlin on a concert tour, and Cosima grew close to Wagner. Due to the entanglement of affections, she endured difficult days, at one point even contemplating suicide.

4. Court Kapellmeister in the Kingdom of Bavaria – Florence

In 1864, King Maximilian II of Bavaria died, and the 18-year-old Ludwig, who loved the performing arts, ascended to the throne. Wagner was summoned to Munich and asked to create opportunities for his own works to be performed and to establish a music school to train singers for performances. Disgusted with his routine in Berlin, Bülow, at Wagner's invitation, moved to Munich with Cosima, where he was appointed Court Kapellmeister. Bülow, along with Wagner, admirably fulfilled the King's requests, excelling not only as a pianist but also as a conductor. In Munich, he premiered Wagner's Tristan und Isolde in 1865 and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 1868. Around this time, he was involved with Wagner in planning the establishment of a general music school in Munich. Wagner recommended Bülow to the King as director, and the school indeed opened in 1865. During his time as director, Bülow edited Cramer's etudes and a collection of Handel's works. In particular, the score compiling 60 selected etudes from Cramer's collection became widely known as "Cramer-Bülow".

Around this time, a decisive rift occurred in Bülow and Cosima's marriage. In 1864, Bülow discovered the intimate relationship between his wife Cosima and Wagner in the house where he lived with Wagner. The following year, in 1865, Isolde was born to Wagner and Cosima, followed by Eva in 1867. Despite this, Bülow, unwilling to lose Cosima, accepted the situation and spent four years in it. However, in 1869, he resigned from his position in Munich. The divorce was finalized in 1870 after he moved to Florence.

Leaving Munich, Bülow decided to move to Florence. His condition, which had been plagued by rheumatism, showed signs of improvement there. He learned Italian, interacted with various artists, and gained wealthy piano students. The ballerina Elvira Salvioni captivated him, and Bülow dedicated his 10-piece collection of dances and intermezzi, Carneval de Milan, Op. 21, to her. From 1870 to the following year, he supported Prussian militarism during the Franco-Prussian War (Brahms took a similar stance). 1870 also marked the centenary of Beethoven's birth. A Beethoven Festival was held in Milan, where Bülow performed as a pianist and conductor in chamber music, concertos, and symphonies by the Bonn master. The following year marked Liszt's 60th birthday, and Bülow rushed to Rome for his teacher. Bülow dedicated his edition of Beethoven's piano works, which he had completed editing and annotating that same year, to Liszt "as a result of his education." At the end of the year, he left Florence and embarked on a European tour from 1871 to 1872. He achieved great success with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" in collaboration with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, marking the beginning of his mature period as a performer. He toured various cities in Poland, Germany, and Italy, including Berlin, Warsaw, Königsberg, Breslau, Danzig, Dortmund, Cologne, Munich, Naples, and Florence, earning substantial income.

5. Concert Virtuoso

In the spring of 1873, Bülow traveled to England. He made a successful English debut with the "Emperor" Concerto in collaboration with the Philharmonic Society in London and was awarded a gold medal by the Society. He also excelled as a conductor, performing excerpts from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. Expanding his performance venues across England, he also extended his reach to Eastern Europe, receiving acclaim in Kyiv and Odessa. He also acted as an advertising figure for the piano manufacturer Carl Bechstein, with whom he had a long-standing relationship. Bechstein, who was expanding his business into Eastern Europe, sent instruments for Bülow's tours, and Bülow played them, making their value known to the public.

In 1875, Bülow left his base in London and embarked on an American tour at the suggestion of impresario Bernard Ullmann. Ullmann was an impresario who had previously managed the American tours of Henri Herz and Sigismond Thalberg. For this tour, Ullmann served as manager, and the piano manufacturing company Chickering was the sponsor. For his American debut in Boston, he began by performing the "Emperor" Concerto, followed by a program of works by Chopin and Liszt. He met the expectations of American audiences with a wide repertoire ranging from the Baroque era to Liszt's works. Among his famous premieres in Boston was Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 (dedicated to Bülow), which he premiered in Boston in October 1875. In New York, Steinway and Chickering engaged in a commercial battle over Bülow, but Bülow disliked being treated like a piano salesman. After performing 139 concerts in various cities, including major ones like Chicago and St. Louis, Bülow returned to Germany in 1876 to recover from exhaustion.

6. Court Kapellmeister in Hanover – Court Kapellmeister in Meiningen

After serving as director of the Choral Union in Glasgow, Scotland, from 1877 to the following year, he secured the position of Court Kapellmeister in Hanover from 1878 to 1880. Here, he again excelled as a pianist and conductor, solidifying his reputation as a leading German conductor. In a series of concerts, he conducted not only Beethoven but also Glinka's overtures, Saint-Saëns's symphonic poems, and French operas (Boieldieu, Auber, Meyerbeer). Of particular importance was his premiere of Brahms's Symphony No. 1 (revised version). Bülow, with his career as a critic, famously called it Beethoven's "Tenth." In 1878, Liszt visited Hanover to discuss the festival of the All-German Music Association, which Liszt had co-founded and chaired. At this regular festival held in Erfurt, Bülow performed a concerto by Liszt's pupil Hans Bronsart von Schellendorf (1830–1913) under Liszt's baton. During his stay in Hanover, he traveled to England twice. The reason was to "earn money" to cover the deficit of the Bayreuth Festival Theatre, which had fallen into financial difficulties after the premiere of The Ring (1876). However, Wagner (likely due to his past relationship with Cosima and Bülow) refused his donation, rendering his good intentions futile.

Bülow, who resigned from his Hanover position due to interpersonal conflicts, left the city and moved to the court of Duke Georg II of Saxe-Meiningen. Bülow accepted this position on the condition that he be guaranteed freedom in his performance activities, serving as Court Music Director in Meiningen from 1880 to 1885. To train the court orchestra of this small town located between Frankfurt and Leipzig, Bülow thoroughly drilled Beethoven's nine symphonies, and the musicians were trained to perform all of them from memory. The orchestra also expanded from 36 to 48 members. He took the orchestra on tour, performing in cities across Germany, Austria, Hungary, and the Netherlands, earning widespread acclaim. Brahms, who had a prior connection with the Meiningen orchestra, renewed his acquaintance with Bülow during a visit to Meiningen, and Bülow subsequently became a champion of Brahms's works. However, a subsequent falling out between the two led to Bülow's departure from Meiningen in 1886. On the other hand, he discovered the young Richard Strauss and appointed him as his conducting assistant. As a pianist, he visited Paris in April 1885, introducing works by Beethoven, Chopin, Rubinstein, and Brahms, who was not yet well-known in Paris. During his Meiningen period, Bülow fell in love with the actress Marie Schanzer and married her in 1882.

7. Education in Hamburg

He resigned from his position in Meiningen and based himself in Hamburg. In 1886, he embarked on a Beethoven cycle, consisting of four concerts each, in cities across Germany, Austria, England, and the United States, starting in Leipzig, performing variations and sonatas (the third concert included Opp. 109, 110, and 111). As a conductor, he became the director of the Hamburg subscription concerts.

From the summer two years before leaving Meiningen, he had been teaching at a masterclass in Frankfurt. In this city, prominent musicians like Clara Schumann taught at the local conservatory, and Joachim Raff, a disciple and assistant of Liszt, served as its director until his death in 1882. His successor was the conservative Bernhard Scholz, and musicians who lost their positions due to organizational restructuring founded the new Raff Conservatory, with Bülow becoming its honorary director. Here are some of the aphorisms Bülow used during this period: "There are no great teachers, only great pupils"; "Those who cannot sing (regardless of the beauty or ugliness of their voice) should not play the piano"; "Crescendo means p, and decrescendo means f. Do not play without immediately realizing where you are going"; "Music is a language. We must punctuate, form, and divide phrases. We must 'speak' on the piano, not chatter," and so on. These aphorisms, along with his evaluations such as the "Three Great Bs of Germany" (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms) and "Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier is the Old Testament, Beethoven's sonatas are the New Testament," clearly demonstrate his talent as what we would now call a copywriter. In his lessons, Cramer and Clementi's etudes were emphasized as foundational, especially for the former, where the same piece was required to be played in different keys, dynamics, and articulations (Bülow famously said, "There are no easy pieces; all are difficult").

8. Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra – American Tour

In 1887, Bülow was appointed chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. His debut was a resounding success, and he subsequently collaborated with numerous prominent young and mid-career musicians. Pianists included Eugen d'Albert, Emil von Sauer (both Liszt's disciples), Bernhard Stavenhagen, Alfred Grünfeld (both Theodor Kullak's pupils), Teresa Carreño, and Ignacy Paderewski. In addition to classical German and Austrian works, Bülow actively included works by contemporary international composers in his programs, such as Tchaikovsky, Glinka, Wagner, Berlioz, R. Strauss, and Dvořák. His exceptional memory, his ability to lead the orchestra to deep insights, and his wide repertoire captivated future great musicians like Bruno Walter.

In 1889 and 1890, Bülow visited America twice. As a pianist, he signed an exclusive contract with the piano manufacturer Knabe and presented the aforementioned Beethoven cycle, starting with performances at the Broadway Theatre. As a conductor, he performed with various orchestras across the country, using performances at the Metropolitan Opera as a starting point. During this stay, he recorded Chopin's Nocturne and (part of) Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" on Edison's wax cylinder, regarding this technology as an astonishing invention.

9. Later Years

After returning to Germany, he rejoined the Berlin Philharmonic but experienced health problems and began treatment. He retired after his concert on February 28, 1892. He also became acquainted with Gustav Mahler, highly appreciating his conducting skills but giving a harsh assessment of his Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection". In the same year, Bechstein Hall was completed, and he gave a recital at its opening performance, which became his last concert as a pianist.

The following year, he entered a hospital in Berlin and subsequently traveled to various places to try different treatments, but he died in Cairo, where he was staying, on February 12, 1894.

References:

Alan Walker, Hans von Bülow: A Life and Times, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2010.