A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Richter, Hans
RICHTER, Hans, celebrated conductor, born April 4, 1843, at Raab in Hungary, where his father was Capellmeister of the cathedral. His mother was also musical, and is still a teacher of singing at Pesth [App. p.772 "Vienna"]. The father died in 1853, and Hans was then placed at the Löwenburg Convict-School in Vienna. Thence he went into the choir of the Court chapel, and remained there for four years. In 1859 he entered the Conservatorium, and studied the horn under Kleinecke, and theory under Sechter. After a lengthened engagement as horn-player in the orchestra of the Kärnthnerthor opera he was recommended by Esser to Wagner, went to him at Lucerne, remained there from Oct. 1866 to Dec. 1867, and made the first fair copy of the score of the 'Meistersinger.' In 1868 he accepted the post of conductor at the Hof- und National Theatre, Munich, and remained there for some length of time. He next visited Paris, and after a short residence there, proceeded to Brussels for the production of 'Lohengrin' (March 22,18 70). He then returned to Wagner at Lucerne, assisted at the first performance of the 'Siegfried Idyll' (Dec. 1870), and made the fair copy of the score of the 'Niebelungen Ring' for the engraver. Early in 1871 he went to Pesth as chief conductor of the National Theatre, a post to which he owes much of his great practical knowledge of the stage and stage business. In Jan. 1875 he conducted a grand orchestral concert in Vienna, which had the effect of attracting much public attention to him, and accordingly, after the retirement of Herbeck (April 1875) from the direction of the Court Opera Theatre—where he was succeeded by Jauner—and of Dessoff from the same theatre, Richter was invited to take the post vacated by the latter, which he entered upon in the autumn of 1875, concurrently with the conductorship of the Philharmonic Concerts. He had already been conducting the rehearsals of the 'Niebelungen Ring' at Bayreuth, and in 1876 he directed the whole of the rehearsals and performances of the Festival there, and, at the close of the third set of performances, received the order of Maximilian from the King of Bavaria, and that of the Falcon from the Grand Duke of Weimar. In 1877 he produced the Walkyrie in Vienna, and followed it in 1878 by the other portions of the tetralogie. In 1878 he was made capellmeister [App. p.772 "Hofkapellmeister"], and received the order of Franz Josef. In 1879 (May 5–12), 80 (May 10–June 14), and 81 (May 9–June 23) he conducted important orchestral concerts in London, which excited much attention, chiefly for his knowledge of the scores of Beethoven's symphonies and other large works, which he conducted without book. [App. p.772 "add that the Richter Concerts have been given every year, since the publication of the article, and are now among the most successful of London concerts."]
Herr Richter is certainly one of the very first of living conductors. He owes this position in great measure to the fact of his intimate practical acquaintance with the technik of the instruments in the orchestra, especially the wind, to a degree in which he stands alone. As a musician he is a self-made man, and enjoys the peculiar advantages which spring from that fact. His devotion to his orchestra is great, and the present high standard and position of the band of the Vienna opera house is due to him. He is a great master of crescendo and decrescendo. Perhaps he leans too much to the encouragement of 'virtuosity' in his orchestra. But as a whole, what he directs will always be finely played.
In correction of a previous statement we may say that his mother, Mme. Richter von Innffeld, formerly a distinguished soprano singer, now lives in Vienna as a teacher of singing. Her method of producing the voice—affecting especially the soft palate and other parts of the back of the mouth—has been very successful, and attracted the notice of Prof. Helmholtz, who in 1872 investigated it, and wrote her a letter of strong approval.[ F. G. ]