Evening journal., 1913-02-05
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
Hans Won BulOw and His
Marvellous Memory
By HoiIsnd

In 1888 and in the early part of
1889 Hans Won Bulow, the piano vir-
tuoso visited the United States pro-
fessionally. He was engaged to di-
rect one of the greatest orchestras
Of the United States in a series Of
concerts, both in New York and in
some of our other large cities
Won Bulow's reputation. had pre-
ceded him. He was recognized as
one of the great musical intellectual
forces of Germany. His rodigious
achievements as a pianist had given
him a fame in Europe the achoes of
which had reached the United States.
Furthermore, there was a roman
tic interest In Won Bulow by reason
OF the fact that he was a son-in-law
of Franz List, the worlds greatest
pianist. Having separated from his
wife, she became, later, the wife Of
Richard Wagner
Won Bulow was reported to have
learned all of the operas composed
by Wagner by heart. Whatever do
mestic troubles he may have had
were not allowed to interfere with
his professional relations with Wag-
ner
] met Won Bulow in the lobby OF
the hotel at Boston at which he was
staying In the early winter of 1889.
He was at that time in Boston for
the purpose of conducting an orches-
trail concert His prestige and fame
attracted very large audiences to
these concerts ! was introduced t.
Won Bulow by common friend. He
was a little man with an enormous
head, vastly disproportiOnate to his
slight body and slender legs. His
eyelids were dropping and this gave
him a sad expression. He wore a
very blond mustache and imperial
and what was left of his hair was OF
a golden brown tint
After my brief meeting with Won
Bulow our friend said to me:
81 think the marvellous thing about
this man is his peculiar memory. In
ordinary things he appears to have
no more than an average memory,
but he has something like a miracu-
lous power for memorizing music.
once heard that Lord Macaulay could
memorize the contents of an entire
book by a single reading, but that is
nothing in comparison with Won Bu-
lows gifts. l have seen him take tn,
conductors stand, to direct an or
chestra through one of Beethoven's
symphonies with no score Of the
music before him. He knew it all by
heart and knew the part which each
OF the instruments had to take.
asked him the other day If that was
the only one of Beethoven's symptom
les which he knew by heart and in re-
ply he told me that he knew every
one Of them and had committed them
all to memory by a single reading OF
the complicated score. / asked him Il
he knew the score of Wagner's
operas He smiled and said. with an
amusing shrug of the shoulder: Yes
all Of them. But that is nothing; just
like learning a song"
81 attended a rehearsal of the or.
| chestra which Won Bulow was con.
! Quoting a day or two ago. It was
one of Beethovcn's symphonies. TIL,
/ orchestra was a very large one. Il
contained every instrument appro
priato for orchestra work Won Bulov
had no score in front of him whei
he took the conductors platform
Suddenly in the first movement OF tn
symphony he raped with his batol
for the orchestra to stop playing
Then he turned to one of the double
bass piayers-there We're four in all
and said to him: You played
wrong note therel Il should hav
been such-and-such a note. You play
ed a half tone higher
The entire orchestra heard thi
statement with amazement. The mu
sicians then realized that their lead
cr knew every note of the entir
symphony and every note played b
every individual instrument and nc
only had detected a wiring note, bu
had pointed out what should hav
been played.
Il think this was proof of as maj
velous a feat of memory as has eve
been recorded"
Copyright. 1913, by r. J. Edward
All rights reserved.)
Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will te
How Prince John Van Buren Mao