"A Continuous Trance": Hans von Bülow's Tour of America

Abstract

Hans von Billow (1830-1894) is usually remembered today as a demanding and innovative conductor; as a student of Liszt, who for a time was his father-in-law; and as an associate of Wagner, whose music he championed and to whom he lost his wife. Although Liszt considered Billow to be his successor as the premier piano virtuoso of the day,' Billow's landmark American tour of 1875-76 as a concert pianist has been consistently overshadowed by the legendary visit of Anton Rubinstein just three seasons earlier. Both performers presented an unusually comprehensive survey of the piano repertoire in a large number of American cities. Rubinstein did it first and with greater flair, but not necessarily better. Billow's tour of the United States illustrates several important developments in late-nineteenth-century American concert life. The sponsorship of his tour by the Chickering piano firm, for example, typifies the increasingly frequent partnership of business and art. Billow's concerts reflect a trend toward historically oriented solo recitals, and his scholarly performances helped establish orthodox interpretations of the increasingly standardized piano repertoire. In addition, Billow's view of music as an edifying force rather than a