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 The grave of Hans Richter at the Stadtfriedhof in Bayreuth. Picture by Androom (24 Jan 2006) |
Richter, Hans |
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BORN 4 Apr 1843, Raab (now: Györ) - DIED 6 Dec 1916, Bayreuth, Bayern BIRTH NAME Richter, János GRAVE LOCATION Bayreuth, Bayern: Stadtfriedhof |
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Richter was the son of Anton Richter, the musical conductor of the cathedral of Györ. His mother was the singer Josephine Csazinsky who sang the part of Venus at the premiere of Richard Wagner's "Tannhäuser" in Vienna in 1857. Richter studied violin, horn and musical theory at the Conservatory in Vienna and worked as a conductor in Brussels. Wagner hired him to prepare a fair copy of his new opera "The Meistersinger" and he lived for a while with Wagner and Cosima von Bülow in Tribschen where he had a good time because Cosima allowed him to eat as much as he wanted. Recommended by Wagner, he became assistant to Von Bülow in Munich in 1868. In 1870 he was a witness to the marriage of Wagner and Cosima and as a trumpeter he took part in the original performance of the "Siegfried Idyl". From 1871 to 1875 he was chief conductor in Pest. In 1876 he conducted the world premiere of Wagner's "Ring des Niebelungen". Among the visitors were Anton Bruckner, Franz Liszt, Edvard Grieg, Claude Debussy, Bernard Shaw and many others. In 1877 he accompanied Wagner to a series of concerts in London and trained the musicians like they had experienced never before. He often worked in London and England afterwards and became a great admirer of Edward Elgar. His annual Richter Concerts were very popular in England. He was the chief conductor of the Wiener Philharmoniker until 1898 and from 1899 to 1911 he held the same position at the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester. From 1885 to 1905 he had also directed the triennial Birmingham Music Festival. On 3 Oct 1900 he conducted the world première of Elgar's "Dream of Gerontius". From 1904 to 1911 he was the chief conductor of the new London Symphony Orchestra. In 1911 he retired because his eyesight failed him. He settled in Bayreuth, where he lived in a house from 1743 named Tabulatur. It was demolished in 1960. Richter was made a honorary citizen of Bayreuth in 1913 and he died there in 1916. Related persons • supported Fischer, Franz von • was a friend of Wagner, Cosima • was a friend of Wagner, Richard Events |
| 13/8/1876 | Premiere of Wagner's "Ring" in Bayreuth starting with "Das Rheingold". It was performed from August 13th to August 17th. "Das Rheingold" had its premiere in Munich in 1869, but this time the entire "Ring" was performed. Many illiustrious persons were present, among them Emperor Wilhelm I of Germany and King Ludwig II of Bavaria. On the 13th "Das Rheingold" was performed. Among the singers were Franz Betz, Heinrich Vogl, Friederike Grün, Marie Haupt, Eugen Gura, Georg Unger, Louise Jaide, Karl Hill, Max Schlosser, Albert Eilers, Franz von Reichenberg, Lilli Lehmann, Marie Lehmann and Minna Lammert. [Friedrich-Materna, Amalie][Lehmann, Lilli][Lehmann, Marie][Vogl, Heinrich][Wagner, Richard][Wilhelm I, emperor of Germany] |
| 14/8/1876 | Wagner's "Die Walküre" performed in Bayreuth as second part of the full "Ring". Hans Richter was the conductor. Among the singers were Albert Niemann, Josephine Schefsky, Franz Betz, Friederike Grün, Amelie Materna, Marie Haupt, Lilli Lehmann, Marie Lehmann, Luise Kaide, Johanna Jachmann-Wagner, Hedwig Reicher-Kindermann and Minna Lammert. [Friedrich-Materna, Amalie][Lehmann, Lilli][Lehmann, Marie][Niemann, Albert][Reicher-Kindermann, Hedwig][Wagner, Richard] |
| 16/8/1876 | Premiere of Richard Wagner's opera "Siegfried" in Bayreuth as third part of the "Ring". "Siegfried" was the third part of his "Ring des Nibelungen" and this part was performed for the first time. Hans Richter was the conductor. Among the singers were George Unger, Max Schlosser, Franz Betz, Karl Hill, Franz von Reichenberg, Marie Haupt, Luise Jaide and Amalie Materna. [Friedrich-Materna, Amalie][Wagner, Richard] |
| 17/8/1876 | Premiere of Wagner's "Götterdämmerung" in Bayreuth as the fourth part of his "Ring". Hans Richter was the conductor. The singers were George Unger, Amalie Materna, Eugen Gura, Mathilde Weckerlin, Gustav Siehr, Kal Hill, Luise Jade, Jahanna Jachmann-Wagner, Josephine Schefsky, Friederike Grün, Lilli Lehmann, Marie Lehmann and Minna Lammert. [Friedrich-Materna, Amalie][Lehmann, Lilli][Lehmann, Marie][Wagner, Richard] |
| 7/5/1877 | Start of the Wagner Festival at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It took place from 7 to 29 May. Wagner conducted the first half of each of the eight concerts that together formed the Grand Wagner Festival. The second part of the concerts was conducted by Hans Richter and Wagner watched him from a large arm chair on the corner of the stage. [Wagner, Richard] |
| 24/1/1878 | First performance of Wagner's "Ring" in Vienna starting with "Das Rheingold". Like in Bayreuth in 1876 the conductor was Hans Richter. [Reicher-Kindermann, Hedwig][Wagner, Richard] |
| 4/10/1883 | First performance in Vienna of Richard Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde". Hans Richter was the conductor. Hermann Winkelmann was Tristan and Amalie Friedrich-Materna was Isolde. Other perfomers were Emil Scaria, Viktor Schmitt and Anton Schittenhelm. The stage set was designed by Carlo Brioschi, Hermann Burghart and Johann Gautsky. The costumes were designed by Franz Gaul. [Friedrich-Materna, Amalie][Wagner, Richard] |
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The grave of Hans Richter at the Stadtfriedhof in Bayreuth. Picture by Androom (24 Jan 2006) |
Sources • Encyclopedie van de Muziek, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1959 • Marek, George R., Cosima Wagner, Ein Leben für ein Genie, Knaur, München, 1993 • Hans Richter (conductor) - Wikipedia (EN) • Hans Richter Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & Mor... | AllMusic • Das Rheingold - Wikipedia (DE) • Die Walküre - Wikipedia (EN) • Götterdämmerung - Wikipedia (EN) • Siegfried (opera) - Wikipedia (EN) • https://www.royalalberthall.com/about-the-hall/our-history/explore-our-history/time-machine/1800s/ |
