Bernhard Scholz was born in Mainz on March 6, 1835, into an upper-class family. At that time, the city, located on the left bank of the Rhein, was part of the German Confederation and an essential fortress in the defense against neighboring France. Its most notable citizen had been Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1400-1468), credited with the invention of the printing press, one of the most influential inventions in Western history. Bernhard Scholz’s father ran a successful lithography printing business in Mainz (Lithographische Druckerei und Verlag Jos. Scholz). It was assumed that his son would eventually take over the firm. To that end, he was sent to Imprimeries Lemercier in Paris to study printing. He was, however, drawn more to music, having studied piano as a young man with Ernst Pauer, who worked from 1847-1851 as a teacher, composer, and director of the musical societies in Mainz. Pauer later became the first Piano Professor at the Royal College of Music in London and served on the music faculty of Cambridge University. At age 20, through the support of his family, Bernhard also studied counterpoint and composition with Siegfried Dehn in Berlin and later singing with Antonio Sangiovanni in Milan. Having settled on a music career, his first significant position was as an instructor at the Munich Conservatory. At that time, he also composed his first opera, Carlo Rosa (1858). In subsequent years, he held various positions, including Court Kapellmeister in Zürich and Hanover. Between 1865 and 1866, he was director of the Cherubini Society in Florence, Italy, and also taught at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, From 1871-83, he lived in Breslau, where he directed and conducted the Orchestra Society. The history of the city dates back more than 1,000 years. At various times, due to its geographical position in Silesia, it has been part of the Kingdom of Poland, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Hapsburg Monarchy of Austria, and is today named Wroclaw, one of the leading cities in Poland. During Scholz’s tenure, it was part of Prussia. The Orchestral Society, founded in 1862, with an orchestra of 80+ members, had already established an excellent reputation throughout Germany for quality performances. Scholz continued and enhanced this tradition, conducting excellent performances of works by leading composers of the day, including Brahms and Wagner. …
