Hans Von Bülow: A Life for Music

Drawing upon an extensive selection of rare letters, reviews and memoirs, Kenneth Birkin sets Hans von B low's work as a recitalist, chamber-music artist and orchestral conductor at the centre of a disturbed and eventful life. B low's Zukunftsmusik advocacy and ruthless criticism of performance standards in Berlin and Munich antagonised a musical 'establishment' nonetheless spellbound by his keyboard and orchestral mastery. Birkin pays particular attention to the Tristan and Meistersinger premieres, Cosima's desertion, the European and American tours and operatic activities in Hamburg and Hanover, as well as B low's pedagogic activities and forays into musical journalism. The book makes liberal use of B low's correspondence, published and unpublished, which personalises the narrative. Contemporary comments and reviews, translated here for the first time, give the reader an insight into the critical and public reaction. An extensive Appendix records the dates and venues of all B low's public appearances, both as pianist and conductor.

Author: Kenneth Birkin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 07/07/2011
Pages: 734
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.80lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.30w x 1.60d
ISBN: 9781107005860

Review Citation(s):
Choice 03/01/2012

About the Author
Birkin, Kenneth: - "Kenneth Birkin is an internationally recognised Richard Strauss scholar, and is the author of Friedenberg and Daphne (1989), Arabella (1989) and British Music: Elgar and After (1997), and the editor of Stefan Zweig - Joseph Gregor Correspondence 1921-1938 (1991). His work has appeared in many journals including Music and Letters, Opera Magazine, The Musical Times and Tempo. He has written and presented programmes for BBC Radio 3 and is the librettist of British composer John Joubert's three-act opera Jane Eyre."