Benjamin Bilse (17 August 1816 – 13 July 1902) was a German conductor and composer. Bilse was born in

Liegnitz Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 a ...

(present-day Legnica) in the Prussian

Silesia Province The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

. He obtained a rich musical education, as at the Vienna Conservatory under violinist

Joseph Böhm Joseph Böhm ( hu, Böhm József; 4 April 1795 – 28 March 1876) was a Hungarian violinist and a director of the Vienna Conservatory. Life He was born in Pest, to a Jewish family. He was taught by his father and by Pierre Rode. His brother F ...

, and played in the orchestra of

Johann Strauss I Johann Baptist Strauss I (; also Johann Strauss Sr., the Elder, the Father; 14 March 1804 – 25 September 1849) was an Austrian composer of the Romantic music, Romantic Period. He was famous for his light music, namely waltzes, polkas, and galo ...

. Returned to Liegnitz, he became municipal ''

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

'' in 1842. Bilsekonzert

From 1867 he regularly performed with the "Bilse's Band" (''Bilse'sche Kapelle'') at the ''Concerthaus'' on

Leipziger Straße Leipziger Straße is a major thoroughfare in the central Mitte district of Berlin, capital of Germany. It runs from Leipziger Platz, an octagonal square adjacent to Potsdamer Platz in the west, to Spittelmarkt in the east. Part of the Bundesstr ...

in Berlin. The orchestra became increasingly popular, Bilse toured Europe and gave guest concerts in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, as well as at the 1867 '' Exposition Universelle'' in Paris, where his band performed ''

The Blue Danube "The Blue Danube" is the common English title of "An der schönen blauen Donau", Op. 314 (German for "By the Beautiful Blue Danube"), a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866. Originally performed on 15 Februa ...

'' together with

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...

. In 1873

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

conducted the orchestra in the presence of Emperor

Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...

. After a fierce quarrel with Bilse about another fourth-class concert trip to Warsaw, 54 musicians in 1882 split to found the "Former Bilse's Band" under conductor

Ludwig von Brenner Ludwig von Brenner (19 September 1833 – 9 February 1902) was a German conductor and composer. He was born in Leipzig, and studied at Leipzig conservatoire, later going to Saint Petersburg to play in the court orchestra of the Tsar.Baker (1 ...

, shortly afterwards renamed

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

, today one of the world's leading orchestras. Bilse retired a few years later and returned to Liegnitz, where he also died.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilse, Benjamin German composers German conductors (music) German male conductors (music) 1816 births 1902 deaths 19th-century German musicians 19th-century German male musicians

See also

External links