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