Hans Knappertsbusch

1.1. Early Life and Education

Hans Alfred Knappertsbusch was born in Elberfeld, now part of Wuppertal, on 12 March 1888, the second son of Gustav Knappertsbusch, a distiller, and his wife Hermine Juliane Berta (née Wiegand). His family lineage can be traced back to Gerhard auf dem Knappen (1580-1668), a Reform Protestant landowner. The family's distillery, Kornbrennerei Knappertsbusch, was established after 1834 by his great-grandfather Johann Heinrich Knappertsbusch (1782-1862) at Funckstraße 97-99. The business passed through generations, from Johann to Friedrich Wilhelm (1816-1890) in 1859, then to Gustav in 1880, and later to Gustav's wife Juliane in 1905, and their son Walter in 1920. Walter's son Konrad (born 1930) took over in 1951 before the business was sold in 2001. The distillery building was designated a Wuppertal monument in 2000, as was his birthplace in 1993. Knappertsbusch had an elder brother, Walter Gustav (1886-1965), and a younger sister, Margarete Emilie Julie (1891-1945). He was baptized on 22 April 1888 and confirmed on 10 March 1903.

From a young age, Knappertsbusch displayed significant musical talent, playing the violin and later the cornet. By the age of 12, he was already conducting his high school orchestra, gaining local renown. Despite his parents' initial disapproval of a musical career, he was sent to study philosophy at Bonn University in 1908, after passing his Abitur. He is also said to have studied philosophy later in Munich, with a reported graduation thesis on 'Kundry in Parsifal'. Concurrently with his university studies, he enrolled at the Cologne Conservatory. There, he honed his conducting skills under the institution's principal, Fritz Steinbach. He also studied composition with Otto Lohse, the chief conductor of the Cologne Opera, and piano with Lazzaro Uzielli, a former student of Clara Schumann and Joachim Raff.

1.2. Early Career and Development

Knappertsbusch began his professional conducting career as a Kapellmeister in 1909, taking up posts in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Bochum, Elberfeld, and Leipzig (1918-1919). From 1910 to 1912, he gained significant experience during his summers as an assistant to Siegfried Wagner and Hans Richter at the Bayreuth Festival. This period was instrumental in shaping his musical interpretations and his development as an internationally recognized Wagner conductor. He made his official opera debut on 15 September 1913 at the Elberfeld Theater, conducting Louis-Aimé Maillart's opera comique, Les Dragons de Villars. Prior to this, he had been engaged to soprano Käthe Jänicke, who performed the role of Rose Fricke in that debut, but their engagement was later broken off. In 1914, he first drew international attention by conducting at a Wagner festival in the Netherlands.

During World War I, Knappertsbusch served in the German army as a non-combatant musician based in Berlin. In May 1918, he married Ellen Selma Neuhaus, also from Elberfeld, with whom he had one daughter, Anita (1919-1938). After the war, in 1919, he succeeded Franz Mikorey at the Friedrich Theater in Dessau (now the Anhaltisches Theater), becoming Germany's youngest general music director. His career continued its upward trajectory when he moved to Munich in 1922, succeeding Bruno Walter as general music director of the Bavarian State Opera and the Academy Concerts at the Odeon, a position he held until 1935. In 1924, he was appointed professor. In August 1929, he made his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, recording works by Clemens von und zu Franckenstein and conducting Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, Eroica, with minimal rehearsal. According to Otto Strasser, Knappertsbusch famously remarked to the orchestra, "You know this work as well as I do." In 1925, he divorced Ellen, and the following year, he married Marion von Leipzig (1898-1984), daughter of a Prussian Army colonel and half-sister of the anthroposophist Hans-Hasso von Veltheim; this childless marriage lasted the rest of his life.

1.3. General Music Director in Munich

Knappertsbusch's eleven-year tenure as General Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich was a period of significant artistic achievement. He invited esteemed guest conductors such as Richard Strauss and Sir Thomas Beecham to perform, and he himself garnered considerable praise for his own conducting. Following a 1931 performance of Parsifal, a reviewer lauded his courage in taking the opera slowly, noting that "Professor Knappertsbusch, however, gave a thoroughly well-balanced interpretation ... full of life, full of philosophy and full of charm." The same critic observed that Knappertsbusch's extensive experience at Bayreuth prior to the war gave him a distinct advantage over rival conductors such as Arturo Toscanini and Wilhelm Furtwängler.

Though musically conservative, Knappertsbusch was also responsible for conducting the premieres of seven operas during his time in Munich: Don Gil von den grünen Hosen by Walter Braunfels, Das Himmelskleid by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Samuel Pepys by Albert Coates, Die geliebte Stimme by Jaromír Weinberger, Lucedia by Vittorio Giannini, and Das Herz by Hans Pfitzner (the latter being a regional premiere). While the visiting English conductor Adrian Boult found Knappertsbusch's performances of Mozart to lack rhythmic precision, he highly praised his conducting of Wagner, remarking that even Arthur Nikisch could not have produced a more overwhelming performance of Tristan und Isolde. Knappertsbusch's popularity extended internationally, leading to guest conducting engagements across Europe, from Leningrad to Madrid and Stockholm to Naples. However, he consistently declined invitations to perform in non-European cities, including an offer from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, a decision reportedly influenced by his later disapproval of the Americans who had banned him after World War II.

1.4. The Nazi Era (1933-1945)

Knappertsbusch's political convictions leaned towards German nationalism, but he was not a member of the Nazi Party and was not sympathetic to its ideology. His personal aversion to the party quickly led the Nazis to deem him "politically unreliable." He famously refused to conduct the Nazi Party anthem, "Horst Wessel Song", at concert openings, often incurring the wrath of Adolf Hitler, who disliked Knappertsbusch's slow tempi, labeling him "that military bandleader." Historian Michael Hans Kater suggested that while Knappertsbusch's ideological hostility to the Nazis may not have been exceptionally strong, his dismissal in 1936 was more likely due to Nazi complaints about his administration of the opera and Hitler's personal dislike. In 1933, the 50th anniversary of Wagner's death, Knappertsbusch collaborated with composer Hans Pfitzner to write "Protest of the Richard Wagner City of Munich." This public letter, co-signed by around 40 prominent Munich cultural and political figures including Richard Strauss, sharply criticized Thomas Mann's lecture "The Suffering and Greatness of Richard Wagner" and specifically condemned Mann's support for the Weimar Republic. This attack played a role in accelerating Mann's plans for exile.

In 1936, the Nazis revoked Knappertsbusch's lifetime contract at the Bavarian State Opera, and he was effectively dismissed. However, the Third Reich was in need of skilled conductors, and the ban was soon lifted. Clemens Krauss, who was sympathetic to Hitler, took over as opera director in 1937. Following these events in Munich, Knappertsbusch shifted his activities primarily to Austria. In 1936, he made his first appearance at the Vienna Staatsoper, where he became a permanent guest conductor, significantly involved in its operations until 1944. He also resumed conducting at the Salzburg Festival from 1937, a year notable for being the only time he, Toscanini, Walter, and Furtwängler were all present at the festival. He maintained a long and close association with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 1939, it was through his recommendation that Willi Boskovsky joined the orchestra as second concertmaster. Knappertsbusch also paid tribute to his colleagues, conducting an all-Brahms program in 1955 as a memorial to the recently deceased Furtwängler, and dedicating the second movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 to Bruno Walter upon his death in 1962.

During the subsequent nine years, Knappertsbusch primarily worked in Austria, guest-conducting in Budapest (performing Tannhäuser in 1937) and at Covent Garden, London (performing Salome in 1937). Despite his continued artistic activities, Munich remained closed to him. On 30 June 1944, he conducted the final performance at the old Vienna Staatsoper, which was destroyed by bombing just hours later. The president of the Vienna Philharmonic recalled: "The bombardment of Vienna was beginning. Already in June shells were falling on the outskirts of the city, and every member of the orchestra knew that Götterdämmerung was going to be our final performance in the old house. It was Götterdämmerung in more senses than one: it was the end of an era. ... everyone had this same feeling. Knappertsbusch conducted, and I think it was one of the greatest performances of his life."

Despite his tense relationship with the Nazis, Knappertsbusch occasionally participated in Nazi-related events, including two concerts celebrating Hitler's birthday in 1943 and 1944. On 20 October 1943, he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic in a concert organized by the Kraft durch Freude (Strength Through Joy) organization, performing Brahms's Violin Concerto with Suwa Nejiko, who played a violin gifted to her by Joseph Goebbels. This performance was recorded, but the tapes were confiscated by the Russian army after the war and are now lost. On 30 January 1943, he was awarded the War Merit Cross without swords. Knappertsbusch's situation during the Nazi era resembled that of his colleague Wilhelm Furtwängler: deeply rooted in German culture and art, he could not, or would not, imagine emigration. He eventually felt compelled to cooperate with the regime to continue his artistic activities. In August 1944, during the final stages of World War II, his name was placed on the 'Gottbegnadeten-Liste' (God-favored Artists List), approved by Hitler as one of the most important conductors, effectively saving him from the hardships affecting civilians on the home front.

1.5. Post-War Activities and Bayreuth

After World War II, there was widespread desire in Munich for Knappertsbusch's return. However, like other leading musicians who had worked under the Nazi regime, he was subjected to a denazification process, and the American occupying forces imposed a ban on his performances in the autumn of 1945, citing his artistic activities during the Third Reich. This ban was lifted in December 1946, but the American forces appointed the young Jewish musician Georg Solti, who had been in exile in Switzerland during the war, as General Music Director of the Munich Opera. Solti later recalled: "Of all the people who might have had reason to resent my appointment in Munich after the war, there was one who had more reason than anyone else: that was Hans Knappertsbusch. There was in fact one man who really helped me, in my inexperience: that was Hans Knappertsbusch. He was a father to me." Solti famously received news of Knappertsbusch's death during a recording session of Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 with the Vienna Philharmonic.

Knappertsbusch resumed his conducting activities in 1947, first with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. He mostly freelanced thereafter, declining invitations for permanent posts, including an offer to conduct at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, reportedly due to his resentment towards the Americans who had banned him. His primary performance bases became Munich, Vienna, and, from 1951, Bayreuth. In 1949, he conducted the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic for the soundtrack of the Austrian biographical film about Beethoven, Eroica. However, in the same year, he refused to conduct Lohengrin at the Vienna Volksoper due to the simplistic stage sets, leading to Felix Prohaska being called in to conduct in plain clothes.

From 1947 to 1950, he performed at the Theater an der Wien, which served as a temporary venue for the bombed-out Vienna State Opera. In November 1955, he conducted Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier at the newly rebuilt Vienna State Opera's reopening. This marked his last appearance at the Vienna State Opera, as Herbert von Karajan, who took over as director in 1956, did not engage him further.

A major highlight of Knappertsbusch's post-war career was his pivotal role in the reopening of the Bayreuth Festival in 1951, commissioned by the new artistic directors, Wieland Wagner and Wolfgang Wagner. He returned to the festival almost every year until 1964, with the exception of 1953. He conducted Der Ring des Nibelungen, The Flying Dutchman, and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, but he was most profoundly associated with Parsifal. Of his 95 appearances at Bayreuth, 55 were conducting Parsifal, with his final performance at the festival on 13 August 1964 also being of this beloved opera. He famously expressed outspoken dislike for Wieland Wagner's frugal and minimalist productions, even protesting his participation in the 1953 festival and refusing to conduct The Ring from 1959 onwards for the same reason. He was known to visit Wagner's grave every time he came to Bayreuth.

He returned to the Bavarian State Opera in 1954 and continued to conduct there for the remainder of his life. He also continued guest appearances in Paris, including a notable 1956 performance of Tristan und Isolde with Astrid Varnay at the Opéra.

1.6. Later Years and Death

In January 1961, while guest conducting in Brussels, Knappertsbusch suffered a gastric perforation and underwent major surgery, with three-quarters of his stomach removed. Despite recovering, his height of nearly 6.6 ft ^{(2 m)} contrasted starkly with his reduced weight of almost 132 lb ^{(60 kg)}, visibly showing his decline. Orchestra members noted a sense of "farewell" in his conducting during this period.

On 21 November 1963, he conducted Beethoven's The Consecration of the House Overture at a concert commemorating the rebuilding of the Nationaltheater (Bavarian State Opera) in Munich, which had been damaged during World War II. After his final Bayreuth performance in late September 1964, Knappertsbusch had a severe fall due to a chronic inner ear disorder, fracturing his hip. He was hospitalized and underwent surgery but never fully recovered. In December, he was discharged to convalesce at home. In April 1965, on his doctor's recommendation, he announced his withdrawal from that year's Bayreuth Festival.

Hans Knappertsbusch died on 25 October 1965, at the age of 77, in Munich, due to acute heart failure and circulatory failure. He was buried on 28 October in the Bogenhausen cemetery in Munich, in tomb wall left 53. As per his wishes, his funeral was attended by only about 20 very close individuals, with no singing or instrumental music. A simple wrought-iron cross was erected on his grave. His death was deeply mourned by his colleagues. Record producer John Culshaw wrote in 1967: "It is not often that there is a true bond of affection between an orchestra and a conductor, and especially so in the case of an orchestra with so long and proud a tradition of its own as the Vienna Philharmonic. The older members still talk with awe about Furtwängler and Richard Strauss. They speak with profound respect for the memories of Erich Kleiber and Clemens Krauss and Bruno Walter. For others, still living, they have mixed feelings ranging from loathing to admiration. But for Hans Knappertsbusch, they had love."

Memorial concerts were held in his honor. On 30 October 1965, a memorial ceremony took place at the Bavarian State Opera, featuring Brahms's Symphony No. 3 (third movement) conducted by Meinhard von Zallinger, a portion of Wagner's Parsifal (third act) conducted by Robert Heger, and Siegfried's Funeral March from Wagner's Götterdämmerung conducted by Joseph Keilberth. On 11 November, Solti conducted the Vienna Philharmonic at the Musikverein in Vienna, performing Siegfried's Funeral March and the second movement of Bruckner's Symphony No. 7. On 17 November, a memorial ceremony at the Munich City Hall featured Robert Heger conducting the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra in Mozart's Serenade No. 10 Gran Partita (third movement) and Richard Strauss's Metamorphosen.

2.1. Core Repertoire and Interpretation

Knappertsbusch is renowned for his highly acclaimed interpretations of works by Wagner, Bruckner, and Richard Strauss, but his repertoire also included significant works by Beethoven and Brahms. He is widely regarded as one of the 20th century's most important Wagner interpreters, having conducted Wagner's works without charge at the Bayreuth Festival after the war, demonstrating his deep personal connection to the composer. Among Wagner's operas, he held a special affection for Parsifal, conducting it 55 times out of his 95 appearances at Bayreuth. He also made it a point to visit Wagner's grave every time he was at the festival.

His conducting style was distinctive, characterized by slow tempi and a reliance on intuition rather than extensive rehearsals. A notable anecdote recounts him telling the Vienna State Opera orchestra, prior to a 1955 performance of Der Rosenkavalier, "You know this work well, I know it well. So why rehearse?" While his gestures on the podium were often modest, their suggestive quality allowed him to inspire the orchestra to peak performance. According to Hans Bosch, a professor at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, conductor Erich Kleiber once remarked that Knappertsbusch was "the only man who could change from piano to forte with a flick of a cufflink." Knappertsbusch valued the spontaneity of live performance, finding that his true genius manifested best in the theater's unpredictable environment. He could communicate his intentions to musicians with merely a glance or an expression.

Beyond his core repertoire, Knappertsbusch conducted works by Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Sibelius, Franz Schmidt, Respighi, Bartók, Stravinsky, and Theodor Berger. His operatic engagements also included works by Verdi, Puccini, Korngold, and Hans Pfitzner, alongside those of Richard Strauss and Wolf-Ferrari. He maintained close friendships with composers Pfitzner, Korngold, and Richard Strauss, as well as conductor Leo Blech.

2.2. Premieres and International Engagements

During his time as General Music Director in Munich, Knappertsbusch conducted the premieres of seven operas:

• Don Gil von den grünen Hosen by Walter Braunfels
• Das Himmelskleid by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
• Samuel Pepys by Albert Coates
• Die geliebte Stimme by Jaromír Weinberger
• Lucedia by Vittorio Giannini
• Das Herz by Hans Pfitzner (regional premiere)

His international guest conducting engagements spanned numerous major European cities. In 1937, he conducted Tannhäuser in Budapest and Salome at Covent Garden in London. After the war, he continued to perform in Paris, including a notable 1956 performance of Tristan und Isolde with Astrid Varnay at the Opéra. His engagements also took him to cities ranging from Leningrad to Madrid and Stockholm to Naples, underscoring his wide international popularity despite his reluctance to accept invitations outside Europe.

2.3. Approach to Bruckner Scores

Knappertsbusch's interpretations of Bruckner's symphonies were a significant part of his repertoire, yet his approach to their scores was controversial. During his early career, only the so-called "revised editions" of Bruckner's scores were available. These editions included alterations and cuts made by individuals other than Bruckner. Beginning in 1935, Robert Haas began publishing "original editions," which sought to restore Bruckner's initial intentions, followed by new critical editions by Leopold Nowak. However, Knappertsbusch consistently chose to perform Bruckner's symphonies using the older revised editions, rather than the more recently published critical editions. The exact reasons for his refusal to adopt the available original editions remain unknown.

2.4. Compositions

Knappertsbusch also left behind a small body of his own compositions. These include:

• Tarantella, Op. 7, for piano. A recording of this piece by Mitsutaka Shiraishi is available on CD.
• Three Lieder with Orchestra, Op. 13. The scores for these songs are believed to be lost.
  • "Über allen Gipfeln Ist Ruh" (Goethe's Wanderer's Nightsong II)
  • "So regnet es sich langsam ein" (Cäsar Flaischlen)
  • "Ich lag von sanften Traum umflossen" (Friedrich Rückert)

  In 2015, a symposium was held in Koto, Tokyo, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his death, where his compositions were performed.

3.1. Approach to Recording

Knappertsbusch did not regard the gramophone as seriously as some of his contemporaries. While his 1931 Munich recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 was lauded as "a monument of unfaltering fire" by one reviewer, he rarely felt at ease in the recording studio. John Culshaw, a record producer who worked with him, explained: "The truth was that Knappertsbusch took very badly to recording conditions, and, no matter what we did, the genius which he so certainly revealed in the theatre refused to come alive in the studio. ... He needed the smell of greasepaint, and the waft of air from backstage. He needed the uncertainty of the theatre, and the comfortable feeling that in the theatre you can, as a conductor, take huge risks in the knowledge that if something ends in disaster only a minority of the audience will realise it at all, while the orchestra will know what it was about and will be forgiving. None of this applies to recording, and the resulting inhibitions were too much for him."

Despite this aversion, Knappertsbusch was not always stubbornly resistant to recording or rehearsals. Photographs from a 1961 Westminster Records recording session show him in the control room, listening to playback with his colleagues and engineers. Furthermore, rehearsal audio with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra has also been preserved, indicating that he did engage in such processes at times.

3.2. Notable Recordings

Knappertsbusch made studio recordings primarily with the Vienna Philharmonic for Decca, but also collaborated with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. His Decca recordings predominantly featured Wagner, including a complete studio recording of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, alongside works by Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Schubert, Strauss (both Johann and his family, as well as Richard), Tchaikovsky, and Weber.

For RIAS (Radio in the American Sector), Knappertsbusch conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in highly regarded live recordings of symphonies by Beethoven (No. 8), Bruckner (No. 8 and No. 9), Haydn (The Surprise), and Schubert (The Unfinished). With the same orchestra, he also recorded The Nutcracker Suite and a selection of Viennese dance and operetta music. According to American music critic Irving Kolodin, The Nutcracker was one of Knappertsbusch's favorite pieces.

Some of Knappertsbusch's most celebrated recordings were made during live performances at Bayreuth in the 1950s and 1960s. His 1951 Parsifal performance was issued by Decca, recorded using equipment from Teldec, a joint venture of Telefunken and Decca established in 1950. Another Parsifal performance from 1962 was recorded by Philips. Both recordings have remained consistently available in catalogues. Upon the transfer of the 1962 set to CD, critic Alan Blyth wrote in Gramophone, "this is the most moving and satisfying account of Parsifal ever recorded, and one that for various reasons will not easily be surpassed. Nobody today ... can match Knappertsbusch's combination of line and emotional power." Musicologist Deryck Cooke noted that the tempi in the 1962 version were closest to those of Hermann Levi's original premiere, highlighting Knappertsbusch's ability to maintain tension and vary expression through slow, broad tempi. The Decca team also recorded Knappertsbusch's 1951 The Ring cycle, but it could not be released at the time due to contractual issues. However, Götterdämmerung from that 1951 cycle was eventually published in 1999.

• Haydn's Symphony No. 92, "Oxford" (with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra, 1924 studio recording). This was his first recording and was an acoustic recording.
• Clemens von und zu Franckenstein's Variations on a Theme by Meyerbeer (with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra, 1924 studio recording). This was his first recording and was an acoustic recording.
• J. Strauss II's Die Fledermaus Overture (with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra, 1928 studio recording). This was an electrical recording.
• Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 (with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra, 19 November 1929 studio recording).
• Wagner's Rienzi Overture (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 1940 studio recording).
• Verdi's Aida, Triumphal March (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 1940 studio recording).
• Carl Michael Ziehrer's Wiener Mad'ln (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 1940 studio recording).
• J. Strauss I's Froh und Heiter (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 1940 studio recording).
• J. Strauss I's Pizzicato Polka (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 1940 studio recording).
• Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 12 May 1940 studio recording). Recorded by the Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft.
• Wagner's Götterdämmerung, Siegfried's Rhine Journey (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 12 May 1940 studio recording). Recorded by the Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft.
• Weber's Invitation to the Dance, arranged by Hector Berlioz (with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 12 December 1942 studio recording).
• Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, "Eroica" (with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 31 March - 1 April 1943 studio recording).
• Brahms's Symphony No. 2 (with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 26 March 1944 live recording).
• Bach's Violin Concerto No. 1 (with Wolfgang Schneiderhan and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 1 July 1944 live recording).
• Bruckner's Symphony No. 4, "Romantic" (with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 8 September 1944 live recording).
• Brahms's Symphony No. 3 (with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 9 September 1944 live recording).
• Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 30 August 1949 live recording). This was a broadcast recording by Rot-Weiß-Rot.
• Schubert's Symphony No. 7, "Unfinished" (with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, January 1950 live recording).
• Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 (with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 29-30 January 1950 live recording).
• Haydn's Symphony No. 94, "Surprise" (with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 2 February 1950 live recording).
• Wagner: collection of Overtures and Preludes, "Forest Murmurs" from Siegfried, "Flowermaiden Scene" from Parsifal, and five other pieces (with Franz Lechleitner, Günther Treptow, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, June-September 1950 studio recording).
• Wagner's Tristan und Isolde complete (with Treptow, Helena Braun, Ferdinand Frantz, and the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra, 23 July 1950 live recording).
• Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg complete (with Paul Schöffler, Karl Dönch, Hilde Güden, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 2-9 September 1950 studio recording).
• Brahms's Symphony No. 3 (with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, November 1950 live recording).
• Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 (with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 7-8 January 1951 live recording).
• Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, "Eroica" (with the Bremen Philharmonic Orchestra, 9 May 1951 live recording). Recorded at Die Glocke.
• Wagner's Parsifal complete (with Wolfgang Windgassen, Martha Mödl, Ludwig Weber, and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus, 30 July 1951 live recording). Recorded using Teldec equipment.
• Wagner's Götterdämmerung complete (with Bernd Aldenhoff, Astrid Varnay, Weber, and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus, 4 August 1951 live recording).
• Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 (with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, January 1952 live recording).
• Richard Strauss's An Alpine Symphony (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 20 April 1952 live recording). This was a broadcast recording by Rot-Weiß-Rot.
• Wagner: Overtures and Preludes, "Ride of the Valkyries" from Die Walküre, and two other pieces (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 6-7 May 1953 studio recording).
• Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, "Eroica" (with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, 17 December 1953 live recording).
• Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 17 January 1954 live recording). This was a broadcast recording by Rot-Weiß-Rot.
• Bruckner's Symphony No. 3, "Wagner" (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 1-3 April 1954 studio recording).
• Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 (with Clifford Curzon and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 4-5 April 1954 studio recording).
• Max Trapp's Concerto for Orchestra No. 3 (with the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra, 11 October 1954 live recording). Recorded at the Deutsches Museum.
• J. Strauss II's Roses from the South, Josef Lanner's Schönbrunner, and 8 other pieces, "Pops Concert" (with the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra, 20 March 1955 live recording).
• Bruckner's Symphony No. 4, "Romantic" (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 29-31 March 1955 studio recording).
• Wagner's Siegfried Idyll (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 1 April 1955 studio recording).
• Wagner's The Flying Dutchman complete (with Hermann Uhde, Astrid Varnay, Weber, and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus, 22 July 1955 live recording).
• Brahms's Tragic Overture, Piano Concerto No. 2, Symphony No. 3 (with Clifford Curzon and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 26 July 1955 live recording). Performed at the Salzburg Festival as a memorial concert for Furtwängler.
• Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier complete (with Maria Reining, Kurt Böhme, Sena Jurinac, and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, 16 November 1955 live recording). Performed at the Vienna State Opera's rebuilding commemoration concert.
• Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 (with the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra, 5 December 1955 live recording).
• Mahler's Kindertotenlieder (with Lucretia West and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 9 April 1956 live recording).
• Richard Strauss's Don Juan and Tod und Verklärung (with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, 7-8 May 1956 studio recording). This was a stereo recording, released in mono until 2004 when the original stereo master was discovered.
• Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder, and four arias from Lohengrin, Die Walküre, and Parsifal (with Kirsten Flagstad and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 13-15 May 1956 studio recording). This was a stereo recording.
• Bruckner's Symphony No. 5 (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 3-6 June 1956 studio recording). This was a stereo recording.
• Wagner's Götterdämmerung, "Dawn - Siegfried's Rhine Journey - Siegfried's Funeral March" (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 3-6 June 1956 studio recording). This was a stereo recording.
• Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen complete (with Hans Hotter, Windgassen, Paul Kuën, Varnay, and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus, 13-17 August 1956 live recording).
• Pfitzner's Scherzo for Orchestra (with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, 6 January 1957 live recording).
• Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor" (with Clifford Curzon and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 10-15 June 1957 studio recording). This was a stereo recording, among the first stereo LPs released by Decca.
• Brahms's Academic Festival Overture, Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Alto Rhapsody, Tragic Overture (with Lucretia West, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Vienna Academy Male Chorus, 10-15 June 1957 studio recording). This was a stereo recording, released in mono until 1973.
• Karel Komzák II's Baden Girl, Ziehrer's Citizens of Vienna, J. Strauss II's Tales from the Vienna Woods, and five other pieces, "Viennese Holiday" (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 15-16 October 1957 studio recording). This was a stereo recording.
• Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2 (with Clifford Curzon and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 21-24 October 1957 studio recording).
• Schubert's Symphony No. 8, "Great" (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 27 October 1957 live recording).
• Franz Schmidt's Variations on a Hussar's Song (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 27 October 1957 live recording).
• Wagner's Die Walküre, Act 1 complete (with Kirsten Flagstad, Set Svanholm, Arnold van Mill, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 28-30 October 1957 studio recording). This was a stereo recording.
• Nicolai's The Merry Wives of Windsor complete (with Max Proebstl, Richard Holm, Annelies Kupper, and the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus, 14 December 1957 live recording).
• Richard Strauss's Don Quixote and Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 2 (with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, 6 January 1958 live recording).
• Wagner: four arias from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, The Flying Dutchman, and Die Walküre (with George London and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 9-11 June 1958 studio recording). This was a stereo recording.
• Wagner's Tristan und Isolde excerpts (with Birgit Nilsson, Grace Hoffman, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 22-25 September 1959 studio recording). This was a stereo recording.
• Schubert's Marche Militaire, Weber's Invitation to the Dance, Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, and one other piece, "Popular Concert" (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 15-17 February 1960 studio recording). This was a stereo recording and his last studio recording with the Vienna Philharmonic.
• Beethoven's Coriolan Overture, Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor", Symphony No. 8 (with Paul Badura-Skoda and the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra, 14 March 1960 live recording).
• Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 29 October 1961 live recording). Rehearsal audio from the previous day also exists.
• Beethoven's Fidelio complete (with Jurinac, Jan Peerce, Gustav Neidlinger, and the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus, December 1961 studio recording). This was a stereo recording.
• Mozart's Clarinet Concerto (with Wolfgang Schloter, principal clarinetist of the Munich Philharmonic, and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, 6 January 1962 live recording).
• Haydn's Symphony No. 88, "V" (with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, 20 March 1962 live recording).
• Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, "Fate" (with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, 20 March 1962 live recording).
• Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3 (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 31 May 1962 live recording). Recorded during the Vienna Festival Weeks, with video documentation.
• Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 (with Wilhelm Backhaus and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 31 May 1962 live recording). Recorded during the Vienna Festival Weeks, with video documentation.
• Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Prelude and Liebestod (with Birgit Nilsson and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 31 May 1962 live recording). Recorded during the Vienna Festival Weeks, with video documentation.
• Wagner's Parsifal complete (with Jess Thomas, London, Irene Dalis, and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus, 5 August 1962 live recording). This was a stereo recording.
• Wagner: orchestral works including Overtures to Rienzi and Tannhäuser, and six other pieces (with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, November 1962 studio recording). This was a stereo recording.
• Richard Strauss's Tod und Verklärung, Schumann's Symphony No. 4 (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 16 December 1962 live recording).
• Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 (with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, 24 January 1963 live recording).
• Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 (with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, 29 January 1963 studio recording). This was a stereo recording and his last studio recording. Until 1996, it was released with reversed phase channels, discovered when the original master tapes were found.
• Wagner's Siegfried Idyll, Tristan und Isolde Prelude and Liebestod, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Act 1 Prelude and Act 3 Prelude, Götterdämmerung Brünnhilde's Immolation (with Christa Ludwig and the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra, 24 March 1963 live recording). Recorded at the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg.
• Wagner's Siegfried Idyll, Die Walküre Act 1 complete (with Fritz Uhl, Claire Watson, Josef Greindl, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 21 May 1963 live recording). Recorded during the Vienna Festival Weeks, with video documentation.
• Wagner's Parsifal complete (with Windgassen, London, Irene Dalis, and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus, 24 July 1963 live recording).
• Richard Strauss's Tod und Verklärung (with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, 16 January 1964 live recording). This was his last concert with the Munich Philharmonic.
• Bruckner's Symphony No. 3, "Wagner" (with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, 16 January 1964 live recording). This was his last concert with the Munich Philharmonic.
• Bruckner's Symphony No. 4, "Romantic" (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 12 April 1964 live recording). This was his last concert with the Vienna Philharmonic.
• Wagner's Parsifal complete (with Jon Vickers, Thomas Stewart, Barbro Ericson, and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus, 13 August 1964 live recording). This was his last concert performance.

4.1. Public Image and Relationships

Familiarly known as "Kna" in Germany, Knappertsbusch was often described as a ruppiger Humanist ("rough humanist"). His frank and unpretentious yet stern demeanor, combined with a certain imperial aura, evolved into a charismatic human appeal in his later years. He was highly respected in Munich and Vienna, earning "popular honor," as exemplified by Munich citizens demonstrating in 1963 to demand his presence for an opera performance.

Otto Strasser observed that Knappertsbusch was a truly original individual to whom no conventional measure could be applied. Like many artistic personalities, Knappertsbusch possessed contradictory qualities: his character was dominated by a strong will and rough solidity, yet it was tempered by high sensitivity and moments of leniency. His unpretentious and somewhat modest nature also contributed to his popularity with audiences and orchestras. After concerts, he would always bow to the orchestra first, acknowledging their crucial role in the successful performance and treating them as collaborators rather than subordinates. He was also known to have invested a significant amount of his private wealth to support musicians who faced hardship during the chaotic post-war period. It later emerged that he had also provided support to persecuted individuals during the Nazi era.

Record producer John Culshaw wrote in 1967: "It is not often that there is a true bond of affection between an orchestra and a conductor, and especially so in the case of an orchestra with so long and proud a tradition of its own as the Vienna Philharmonic. The older members still talk with awe about Furtwängler and Richard Strauss. They speak with profound respect for the memories of Erich Kleiber and Clemens Krauss and Bruno Walter. For others, still living, they have mixed feelings ranging from loathing to admiration. But for Hans Knappertsbusch, they had love. He was the kindest, most modest conductor I have ever worked with. He was unfailingly generous to his colleagues. He would never join the rat race for fame and honour. In the theatre I believe that he was a Wagner conductor of supreme ability. I know why orchestras loved him. I know why we loved him."

Conversely, Knappertsbusch was also known for his rough, unpleasant, and easily agitated temperament, which could be intimidating. His anger was quick to ignite, and blunt verbal outbursts were not uncommon. As recounted by renowned soprano Birgit Nilsson, singers often received loud, vulgar words from him even during performances for mistakes, such as being called `Ziege<sub>goat</sub><sup>German</sup>`. He was skilled at handling unforeseen issues during live performances. One anecdote tells of a Siegfried performance where some brass players did not return from their break before the second act. Knappertsbusch, oblivious, began conducting without the tuba and first trumpet, soon realized the absence, stopped, waited for the musicians, and remained angry about the incident for an entire year. His famous insults toward the Nazi rulers, however, were tolerated due to his unique status, saving him from life-threatening repercussions. A notable viola joke attributed to him is: "The viola is as superfluous as the Pope's genitals." Austrian journalist Andreas Novak aptly characterized Knappertsbusch as a "grumpy humanitarian."

4.2. Family Life

Knappertsbusch was married twice. His first marriage was in 1918 to Ellen Selma Neuhaus (1896-1987) from Elberfeld. They had one daughter, Anita Clara Julie, born on 22 May 1919. Anita's untimely death on 2 June 1938 from a brain tumor had a profound and lasting impact on Knappertsbusch's personal life. The marriage ended in divorce in 1925.

In 1926, he married Marion von Leipzig (1898-1984), the daughter of a Prussian Army colonel. This marriage, which was childless, lasted until his death. The loss of his daughter Anita deeply affected Knappertsbusch; he maintained a small mausoleum for her in his study, allowed no one but his wife to enter it, and wore the key to it as a pendant. He always kept her photograph by his side. Otto Strasser recalled visiting the Knappertsbusch residence on Mauerkircherstraße in Munich to offer condolences shortly after Anita's death and being warmly received by the couple. After dinner, Knappertsbusch himself played the Waltraute scene from Wagner's Götterdämmerung on the piano.

After Knappertsbusch's death, Marion, adhering to his wishes, donated over 200 items, including musical scores, to the Bavarian State Library in January 1966. However, she destroyed his private correspondence. She also declined Munich's offer for a memorial monument by sculptor Hans Wimmer. Marion did not attend any memorial ceremonies for her husband and reportedly did not grant interviews about him during her remaining years. She was later buried in the same cemetery as her husband.

5.1. Historical Significance and Influence

Hans Knappertsbusch is widely regarded as one of the 20th century's most important conductors. His interpretations, particularly of the German Romantic repertoire, were monumental. He is especially credited with enormous and imaginative expressions in his conducting of Wagner, particularly the fluid, boundless qualities of the composer's later music dramas. Among other composers, his performances of Bruckner, heavily influenced by Wagner, were consistently highly praised. Critics often describe his performances as possessing a "heavy, deep taste" that positioned him as the "greatest presence after Furtwängler" in terms of profound musical insight. His unique artistic style and deep connection to the works he conducted left a lasting impact on subsequent generations of musicians.

5.2. Awards, Honors, and Memorials

During his lifetime, Knappertsbusch received numerous awards and honors:

• 1943: War Merit Cross
• 1944: Appointed Commander of the Order of Saint James of the Sword
• 1953: Elected honorary citizen of Bayreuth
• 1958: Received the Bavarian Order of Merit and the Honorary Gold Medal of Munich. On his 70th birthday, he was awarded the Honorary Ring of the Munich Philharmonic. Appointed Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur.
• 1963: Elected honorary citizen of Munich. Awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art.

Posthumous tributes and memorials have continued to honor his legacy:

• In 1937, the German sculptor Bernhard Bleeker created a bust of Knappertsbusch. Bleeker also created a portrait medal in 1958, which was presented to Knappertsbusch by the city of Munich on his 70th birthday.
• A portrait of Knappertsbusch by painter Hans Jürgen Kallmann hangs in the lobby of the Bavarian State Opera.
• Streets named "Knappertsbuschstraße" have been established in Bayreuth, Bogenhausen, and Pforzheim. The Bogenhausen district notably has a Knappertsbuschstraße Elementary and Middle School.
• In 1993, Knappertsbusch's birthplace at Funckstraße 55 in Wuppertal was designated a cultural heritage monument of North Rhine-Westphalia and a monument of Wuppertal.
• In 2000, the Kornbrennerei Knappertsbusch, the family distillery managed by the Knappertsbusch family for generations, was also designated a cultural heritage monument of North Rhine-Westphalia and a monument of Wuppertal.
• A star dedicated to him can be found on the "Musik Meile Wien" (Music Mile Vienna).