Bernhard Scholz

Bernhard (Ernst) Scholz,
(b Mainz, 30 March 1835; d Munich, 26 Dec 1916). German conductor and composer, father of Hans Scholz.

He first studied music with Heinrich Esser and Ernst Pauer and, after a trip to Paris to learn lithography at his father's request, took further instruction from S.W. Dehn (composition) and Sangiovanni (singing) in Milan. He taught theory at the Royal School of Music in Munich from 1856, then conducted the opera in Zürich and Nuremberg before becoming assistant court Kapellmeister to Marschner in Hanover (1859–65). Subsequently he conducted the concerts of the Società Cherubini in Florence (1865–6) before his activity as a conductor in Berlin, where he directed the Philharmonic Concerts and the Cäcilienverein and taught at Kullak's and Stern's conservatories. From 1871 he directed the concerts of the Breslau Orchestral Society. He succeeded Raff as director of the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt in 1883, a position he retained until his retirement in 1908; he also conducted the choral union founded by F.W. Rühl (from 1884). Scholz was a promoter of the use of art in a patriotic and social context, and in 1897 founded the first workers' Volkschor in Germany. On retirement he went first to Florence and then settled in Munich in 1914. The University of Breslau awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1883.

Scholz belonged to the circle of Brahms, Joachim and Clara Schumann, and was among those who signed the famous manifesto of March 1860 against the New German School. He worked assiduously to promote the works of Brahms, whose influence is most evident in his compositions. His late chamber music, which shows a concern with form and finish in detail, represents the highpoint of his output. His String Quartet in G op.46 won the Florentine Quartet Prize in 1877, and his String Quintet in E minor op.47 was awarded a prize by a St Petersburg society the following year. Scholz was also distinguished as an author and compiler of textbooks.