Walter Bache

Walter Bache was an English pianist and conductor. He championed the music of the New German School in England. He studied privately with Liszt in Italy from 1863 to 1865. Bache’s major accomplishment was the establishment of LiszT’s music in England between 1865 and his death in 1888.

About Walter Bache in brief

Walter Bache was an English pianist and conductor. He championed the music of the New German School in England. He studied privately with Liszt in Italy from 1863 to 1865. Bache’s major accomplishment was the establishment of LiszT’s music in England, to which he selflessly devoted himself between 1865 and his death in 1888. He was one of the few students allowed to do so, and continued to attend LisZt’s master classes in Weimar, Germany regularly until 1885, even after embarking on a solo career. This period of study led to a particularly close bond between Bache and Lisz t. He played an annual series of solo recitals that incorporated Liszzt’s piano music. He performed two-piano arrangements of the orchestral works prior to the debuts of the original versions, and performed some of the symphonic poems shortly after they had been premiered at the Crystal Palace. He also provided informative, scholarly program notes, written by leading musical analysts and intimates in the Lis zt circle. The English musical press, while generally hostile to the music he presented, noted and appreciated Bache’s efforts. He died in 1888 at the age of 63. He is buried in the Forest of Leipzig, Germany, where he studied piano with Ignaz Moscheles and composition with Carl Reinecke. He met Jessie Laussot, who founded a flourishing musical society in the city, and Hans Bülow von Bussot who founded the Büussot Society.

He had a close friendship with Edvard Grieg, who was a friend of his brother Francis Edward Bache, and Pauline Viardot, Giulia Grisi, Joseph Joachim and Henri Vieuxtemps. His sister Constance Bache wrote a joint biography of both brothers under the title Brother Musicians. She was a composer, pianist, and teacher who would write a book about her brother’s life and work. She also wrote a biography of Beethoven, Bellini, Chopin, Moritz Hauptmann and Mendelssohn. In the book, Constance quotes a musician of high standing who said, ‘You was compelled to work, there being no particular supervision; and there was always to see, for the less of amusement and way of amusement.’ Bache said he wasted much time in Leipzig and lacked direction. He applied himself to his piano studies, but by his own admission wasted many time in Leipzig. While the city was reportedly past the halcyon days it had experienced under Mendels sohn, it proved valuable for exposing Bache to artists such as Pauline Viardot and Giulia Grisi. In Florence, Bache stayed with the Italian culture before returning to England with the intent of soaking in Italian culture. As my recollection goes, the time was rather given to working by fits and starts, rather than making excellent resolutions, which did not last many days.

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