Richter, << RIHK tuhr, >> Hans (1843-1916), was a famous German orchestra conductor who helped popularize the operas of the German composer Richard Wagner. Richter was conductor of the Wagner Bayreuth Festival in Germany from 1876 to 1912. At Bayreuth in 1876, he conducted the first complete performance of Wagner’s opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelung. Richter was a leading interpreter of German music, especially that of Wagner, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Anton Bruckner. He also was a supporter of the music of English composer Sir Edward Elgar and Czech composer Antonin Dvorak.
Richter was born on April 4, 1843, in Gyor, Hungary. He began conducting in Munich, Germany, in 1868. Richter conducted both the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna Opera from 1875 to 1898. He made his conducting debut in England in 1877. Richter conducted the London Symphony Orchestra from 1904 to 1911. He also conducted the Covent Garden Opera beginning in 1882. Richter led the Halle Orchestra in Manchester from 1897 until 1911. He died on Dec. 5, 1916.
