Alide Topp
German pianist (1844– 1935)
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Alide Topp (1844–1935) was a German pianist and a representative of the New German School. A protégée of Hans von Bülow, she gained early recognition in Germany for her technical virtuosity and her interpretations of the works of Franz Liszt, who described her playing as a "marvel." Topp served as a court pianist to Constantine, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, before embarking on a successful concert tour of the United States from 1867 to 1870.
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April 22, 1844
- * Stern Conservatory, Berlin
- * private student of Hans von Bülow
Alide Topp | |
|---|---|
Alide Topp (between 1865 and 1878) | |
| Born | Alide Eleonore Sophie Topp April 22, 1844 Teterow, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
| Died | July 7, 1935 (aged 91) Charlottenburg, German Reich |
| Other names | Alida, Alide von Schöler |
| Education |
|
| Occupation | Classical pianist |
| Years active | c. 1860 – 1871 |
| Known for | Liszt interpreter |
| Spouse | Franz von Schöler |
During her years in America, Topp became a pioneer of the classical piano recital, performing the New York premiere of Liszt's Fantasy on Motifs from Beethoven's Ruins of Athens and becoming one of the first pianists to present solo "historical concerts." Her career was marked by her close association with Steinway & Sons and by performances under the batons of Theodore Thomas and Carl Bergmann. In 1870, she was received by President Ulysses S. Grant at the White House.
Following her return to Germany, she withdrew from public life upon her marriage into the Prussian nobility, though historians noted her influence on the American musical landscape well into the 20th century.
Early life and education
Alide Topp (also identified as Alida)[a] was born on 22 April 1844 in Teterow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, then part of the German Confederation. Her parents were Carl Topp and Dorothea Hagemann.[3] As members of the educated middle class (Bildungsbürgertum), the family’s social status was tied to her father's work as a "music publisher and dealer."[b] Following a relocation to the Hanseatic city of Stralsund in the Prussian Province of Pomerania, the city became her primary residence; she was frequently identified in the contemporary press by her hometown.[5]
Topp studied at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin under the instruction of Hans von Bülow. Her first public appearance occurred in April 1861 at a conservatory examination, where the Neue Berliner Musikzeitung identified her as "perhaps the most talented" performer, specifically praising her execution of the Scherzo from Weber's Sonata Op. 49.[c] In 1862, Bülow recorded in his journals that Topp was the "most talented and diligent student" he had encountered.[d] A concert in Stralsund in late 1862 – featuring a program of Beethoven, Schumann, Raff, and Liszt – established her reputation for "memory playing" and technical proficiency.[e]
In May 1863, Bülow requested special permission from director Julius Stern to continue Topp's instruction privately and without charge, describing the opportunity to foster her talent as an "honour" he "rarely" experienced.[f] She began her career as a "concert virtuoso" the same year.[g]
Career
Career in Germany (1864–1867)
Beginnings
Topp’s first post-graduation recital took place in Stralsund in April 1863; the program reprised works by composers from the previous year, supplemented by Bülow's Mazurka-Impromptu, Op. 4. Her interpretations elicited positive reactions, further enhanced by local sentiment for the Stralsund-based pianist.[11] In February 1864, Topp made her Leipzig debut before a "wider public" with the Euterpe Musical Society, performing works by Liszt and Schumann.[h] Although she might be considered "a beginner", she was noted for an "artistic level" usually reserved for established careers. Reviews highlighted her "fully developed touch", "profound intellectual understanding", and "fiery and vibrant imagination", remarking that her "small, slight figure" possessed an "outstanding depth of soul and willpower."[i]
Liszt's "marvel"
Her career reached a significant turning point in August 1864 at the Third Assembly of German Musicians (Dritte Tonkünstlerversammlung) in Karlsruhe. This annual festival was the primary platform of the General German Music Association (ADMV), founded by Liszt and Franz Brendel and the main forum for the New German School (Neudeutsche Schule). After Bülow declined the festival director role due to illness – a development that, according to Liszt, “deeply affected” him,[j] Topp replaced the indisposed Ingeborg Starck.[k] On 24 August at the Grand Ducal Court Theatre (Großherzogliches Hoftheater), Topp performed Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor and Mephisto Waltz No. 1 in the composer's presence.[16] Liszt described her interpretation as a "marvel" (Wunder);[l] however, conservative critics dismissed the reception as coming from "writers and dilettantes" of the New German School rather than from "artists."[m] Conversely, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik praised her "powerful, steely attack" and "finely nuanced" technique, calling her an "epoch-making" talent.[n] International attention followed; the Strasbourg journal L'Illustration de Bade remarked that at only 17, "such artistic perfection is unique and incredible", noting her ability to "draw sovereign advantage from all the resources of her instrument."[o]
By 1865, music critics ranked Topp among the "artistic powerhouses" (künstlerische Kraftnaturen) such as Anna Mehlig,[p] alongside "excellent piano virtuosos" like Sara Magnus and Mary Krebs.[q] Despite this recognition, her performances in major German music centres remained rare and took place amidst the Prussian wars of 1864 and 1866 and the associated political unrest. Following a concert in Rostock, a review published on 1 March 1865, urged Topp – in the wake of the War of the Romantics – to "emancipate" herself more strongly from the New German School. The author criticised her preference for Liszt and Tausig over her interpretations of Beethoven, Bach, and Handel, which were described as "interesting and good."[r] On 27 February 1865, her father, who was also a member of the ADMV,[s] died.[t]
Court pianist in Löwenberg
In April 1866, Topp was appointed "chamber virtuoso and court pianist" by Constantine, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, at his residence in Löwenberg.[u] Prince Constantin was a prominent patron of the New German School,[26] and organised concert series featuring his court orchestra under Max Seifitz. Topp "rapidly" became the "celebrated darling" of the public in Löwenberg.[v] As a representative of the New German School, she undertook further engagements, for example, in November 1866 in Schwerin, where she performed works by Liszt, Chopin and Handel "with a certain hardness in her touch",[w] and appeared in Berlin in January 1867. On this occasion, the composer and critic Alexis Hollaender observed that while Topp made a "good impression" with Schumann’s Faschingsschwank aus Wien, her style was characterised as "masculine, serious, and nobly virtuosic." Hollaender criticised her repertoire selection as "unfortunate", arguing that it primarily allowed her to showcase the "side of power" (Seite der Kraft) rather than a broader range of artistic expression.[x]
Departure for the United States Tour
After her stay in Löwenberg, Topp left Hamburg on board the steamer Saxonia, "first cabin",[30] on 21 September and reached the Port of New York on 8 October 1867.[31] German critics advised her to "behave modestly" because the New York public was "independent" and supposedly had no "trust in authority."[y]
At the time of her arrival, New York was experiencing a significant increase in the number of European immigrants.[33] In the October 1867 issue of Signale für die musikalische Welt, the critic Theodor Hagen commented on this influx, focusing specifically on "these crowds of pianists", both men and women, "who arrived weekly" only to be "bitterly disappointed." However, he identified Topp as a notable exception who would likely "make her way" in the American musical scene.[z]
United States (1867–1870)
Arrival and early successes
Upon her arrival in New York, Topp visited the offices of Steinway & Sons. She presented William Steinway with a letter of recommendation from her former teacher, Hans von Bülow, in which she was described as superior to established pianists such as Clara Schumann, Wilhelmine Clauss-Szarvady, Anna Mehlig, and Arabella Goddard. Bülow argued that her "artistic genius" justified classifying her not among "the female", but "male pianists",[35] placing her on the same level as Anton Rubinstein and Carl Tausig. Aware that her gender would be "an issue" in public discussion, Bülow sought to position Topp as a peer to the era's leading virtuosos.[aa]
Topp's display of her skill at the piano after the delivery of the letter in the Steinway offices, during which parts of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies were played, prompted the conductor Theodore Thomas to seek her engagement as a soloist.[37] However, Topp's first public appearance in New York City took place on 3 November 1867 at the Liederkranz Hall, where she performed Liszt's Soirées de Vienne, Gnomenreigen, and Raff's Valse-étude, Op.56.[38] This was followed on 14 November by a performance of Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 at Steinway Hall, conducted by Carl Bergmann, alongside Chopin's Ballade No. 1. Dwight's Journal of Music noted the "particular interest" shown by the public and praised her "excellent technique", as well as the "passion and soul" and "individuality" that marked her as a "true artist."[39]
Established career
Following her New York debut, Topp became a fixture on the city’s major concert stages. The journal Signale für die musikalische Welt dryly noted that her "bear-like friends" could no longer prevent her from making public appearances.[40]
On 21 December 1867, Topp performed in the second concert of the Philharmonic Society of New York at the Academy of Music. The program, conducted by Carl Bergmann, drew significant interest as it featured the New York premiere of Liszt’s Fantasy on Motifs from Beethoven’s Ruins of Athens,[41] alongside Weber’s Konzertstück in F minor, Op. 79. While Dwight's Journal of Music noted that Topp performed "without a score",[42] the New York Herald hailed her as a "great artist", who found in Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 "her pièce de resistance, and she did it full justice."[43] Her success continued on 8 January 1868 at Steinway Hall. Performing a program of Liszt’s compositions, the New York Times praised her for possessing a "clear perception of the meaning of this sort of music."[44]
At the end of January 1868, the press announced that Topp would be giving a series of solo recitals. These "historical concerts" were devoted to "characteristic compositions" by Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, Handel, Chopin, and Liszt.[45] The New York Times – on the occasion of the first concert in this series on 6 February 1868, at Steinway Hall – remarked that presenting a program consisting solely of piano music was a "hazardous experiment" for the time, but concluded that Topp’s reputation as a "fine artist" was by then "unquestionable."[46]
Her success extended to Boston, where she performed at the Handel and Haydn Society's first Triennial Festival. She debuted on 6 May 1868 with Schumann's Piano Concerto, which a review noted "electrified" the audience.[47] On 9 May, she presented Liszt’s First Piano Concerto to the Boston public for the first time. John Sullivan Dwight described her playing as "brilliant and exquisite", despite his personal reservations regarding the "idiosyncratic" and "extravagant" composition.[ab] In August 1868, Topp spent several weeks in Newport,[ac] giving concerts and continued to cause a "first-class sensation."[49]
In September 1868, Topp opened a teaching practice in Steinway's New York premises;[50] that same autumn, she began performing with the Clara Louise Kellogg troupe.[51] Following a performance of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in Boston that November, Dwight's Journal of Music reported that she played "wonderfully", noting that her initial nervousness was "creditable to her musical feeling."[ad] By the end of 1868, Topp was financially secure enough to support her mother in Germany[53] and was recognised in the year-end review of the German-language New-Yorker Musik-Zeitung as one of the few "very gifted" pianists of the season.[54]
Towards the end of 1869, Topp appeared in New York less frequently,[ae] apart from assisting concerts with Kellogg and Ole Bull,[56] and the reception became more mixed. Following a performance of Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2 on 23 October 1869, Dwight's Journal of Music wrote that she "failed to achieve artistic success", specifically noting frequent missed notes.[57] Other critics began to employ gendered commentary; after she performed Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 on 27 November, the New York Herald remarked that she "should not overtask her powers again by selecting such a Titanic work",[58] while the New York Post suggested the concerto exhausted "her strength before she had finished."[59] At a Liederkranz Society concert on 10 April 1870, the New York Times described her as being outshone by the "more refined" Anna Mehlig, though Topp was praised for her bravura in interpretations of Raff’s Cachucha and Kowalski's Ventre à terre.[60]
Topp's standing among the European musical elite was reaffirmed in March 1869, when a correspondent for the New York Tribune reported from Rome on an amused remark by Liszt. Addressing the critics' debate over her training, Liszt stated: "She is a pupil of Von Bülow – or rather Von Bülow does not make pupils, he makes masters, and Alide Topp is one of them."[61]
Professional recognition and departure
In early 1870, Topp’s professional standing led to high-level social recognition. On 16 February 1870, she was received by President Ulysses S. Grant and First Lady Julia Grant in the Red Room of the White House, where she performed "Home! Sweet Home!" for the presidential couple.[62]
Topp gave her farewell concert on 3 May 1870, at the Union League Theatre in New York City. The performance, attended by a "very select" audience, was introduced by Robert Ogden Doremus, then president of the New York Philharmonic. While Watson's Weekly Art Journal offered a mixed review, praising her "excellent pianism" in Liszt’s works but questioning her professional advancement, other critics were more favourable.[63] The Washington Chronicle argued that Topp had "created quite a sensation" in America, noting that her musical style skilfully "excels in the execution of difficult music", and her repertoire would challenge the "uneducated masses." The report expressed the hope that she would not forget that the general public was "not as well educated as herself in the divine art."[64] Topp departed New York for Europe on 7 May 1870.[af]
Reception and legacy in the United States
Topp’s impact on American piano culture persisted long after her departure. In 1871, The Musical Independent recalled her as a performer for whom there were "no technical difficulties" and who possessed a strength in playing comparable to that of her male colleagues.[65] An anecdote from the era illustrates the gender stereotypes Topp faced; when the violinist Camilla Urso remarked that no woman could play "great music" due to the lack of "biceps of a man", Topp reportedly retorted: "I break my pianos as well as a man could, and Steinway has to send me a new one every week."[66]
In his 1889 work A Hundred Years of Music in America, W. S. B. Mathews placed Topp within the piano culture established in the United States by Bülow and Rubinstein. He noted that conductor Thomas further developed this tradition by engaging prominent female soloists for his orchestral tours. Mathews considered Topp, alongside Anna Mehlig and Marie Krebs, as essential figures in this movement, stating that their names were "not to be forgotten in this connection."[67] Topp was listed in the section "Prominent pianists and teachers who are or have been identified with the American pianoforte" in Daniel Spillane's 1890 book History of the American Pianoforte.[68]
In his 2003 study From Paris to Peoria: How European Piano Virtuosos Brought Classical Music to the American Heartland, musicologist R. Allen Lott broadened this context, identifying Topp among the "very high caliber" pianists who toured "extensively throughout the United States" between 1867 and 1870 in the post-Civil War era.[69] Lott suggested that these artists may have sought "greater acceptance than possible on the continent", contributing to the foundational era of American concert life.[ag] As late as 1906, Topp was listed in an advertisement in the Washington Post among the "eminent musical artists" who prioritised the use of Steinway pianos.[71]
Return to Germany and private life
Marriage and family
Shortly before her departure in May 1870, Topp attended the christening of Doremus's child at his New York family residence, a social event covered by the Chicago Tribune, also to report on Topp's reasons for returning home and her "touching little romance" there: Prussian officers were only allowed to marry if the couple had sufficient private wealth to support a family – a financial requirement that Topp, according to the reporter, was able to meet using the proceeds from her American tour.[72]
Topp returned to Germany two months before the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. Her engagement to Prussian lieutenant Franz August Gebhardt von Schöler – a member of the nobility – was announced in the military journal Militär-Wochenblatt issue of 15 March 1871.[73] The couple married on 6 November 1871 in Oldenburg.[74] They would go on to have three sons: Eugen (born 1873 in Stralsund), Edgar (born 1874 in Aurich), and Frank (born 1876 in Aurich).[75]
Later life
In its 27 May 1870 issue, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik mentioned Topp's return from the United States in the personal news section. After that, her name no longer appears in the German music press.[76]
Alide von Schöler died on 7 July 1935 in Charlottenburg,[3] then part of Greater Berlin. In the contemporary Berlin address book, she was listed under the title of "widowed lieutenant colonel",[77] reflecting the social custom of the time.
Notes
- Although her given name was Alide, the spelling "Alida" was sometimes used in contemporary publications. "Alide (or Alida) Topp" by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, see [1]; "Alida" by the German Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft, see [2]
- Original German with concert program (digital scan, p. 417, in the MDZ viewer): Aus Stralsund schreibt man uns Rühmendes über eine junge Clavierspielerin, Fräulein Alide Topp, eine Schülerin von Herrn H. von Bülow in Berlin. In einem öffentlichen Concerte trug sie vor Beethovens Sonate in Es-dur, Op. 31 Nr. III., den Faschingsschwank, Op. 26, von Schumann, das Scherzo aus Weber's As-dur-Sonate, J. Raff's glänzende Transcription des Sextetts aus dem Tannhäuser und Liszt's Venezia e Napoli, eine Ergänzung zu dessen Années de pélérinage. Sie spielte alles auswendig und entwickelte einen hohen Grad von Befähigung und bereits erreichter technischer Fertigkeit.[8]
- Original German: (digital scan, p. 98, in the MDZ viewer): Frl. Topp kann dem Publicum gegenüber allerdings eine Anfängerin genannt werden, aber sie fängt gleich auf einer solchen Höhe des Künstlerthums an, wie von gar vielen nicht unerheblichen Claviervirtuosen selbst am Ende ihrer Laufbahn nicht immer erreicht wird . Ihr vielseitiger durch und durch fertig ausgebildeter Anschlag ... Dabei bekundet ihr Vortrag ein so tiefes, geistiges Verständnis, einen solchen feurigen Schwung wiederschaffender Phantasie, daß auch der möglichst kaltsinnige Zuhörer vom Eindrucke solchen Spiels unwillkürlich hingerissen, eingestehen muß, daß in dieser kleinen schmächtigen Gestalt nicht gewöhnliche künstlerische Begabung, ausnahmsweise hervorragende Seelentiefe und Willenskraft sich zeigt.[13]
- Original German (digital scan, p. 363, in the MDZ viewer): Einem so markigen Stahl-Anschlag, einer so sicher, so klar und dabei so fein ausgestaltenden Nuancierung sind wir neuerdings seit Bülow noch nicht wieder begegnet, zumal bei einer Dame. Hier trat ein ungewöhnliches, epochemachendes Talent an uns heran.[18]
- Original French: Son mécanisme est des plus extraordinaires, sa vigueur vraiment gigantesque; il sait tirer un parti souverain de toutes les ressources de son instrument. Mais nous avons été porté à admirer davantage Mlle Alide Topp, parce qu'à son âge (elle n'a que 17 ans), une telle perfection artistique est certainement unique et incroyable.[19]
- Original German (digital scan, p. 62, in the MDZ viewer): Es dürfte wohl zu beachten sein, daß in neuester Zeit der Kreis ausgezeichneter Klaviervirtuosen (im edlen Sinne des Wortes) durch junge Damen in sehr hervorragender Weise bereichert worden ist: wir erinnern vor allem an Alide Topp, Sara Magnus und Mary Krebs.[21]
- Original German: Die eminenten Vorzüge der jungen Dame sind genugsam bekannt. Möge nur die liebenswürdige Künstlerin sich allmälig mehr von der Schule zu emancipieren suchen und, wie ja auch die Meister dieser Schule sich bequemen müssen, sich von der Höhe der Zukunft etwas mehr in die Tiefe der Vergangenheit versenken. Sie spielte die Beethoven'sche Sonate Op. 81 , Variationen von Händel, Sarabande und Passepied von Bach interessant und gut, die Sachen von Liszt aber lieber und besser, und ein Salonstück von Tausig am besten.[22]
- Original German (digital scan, p. 220, in the MDZ viewer): Löwenberg 12. Febr, .... Von den Concerten in letzter Zeit verdienen ganz besondere Erwähnung, außer den schon so oft gewürdigten herrlichen Leistungen der Hofeapelle unter Max Seifitz's genialer Leitung, die Solovorträge der Hofpianistin Fräulein Alide Topp ... Erstere, als eine Pianistin ersten Ranges in der Musikwelt bekannt, hat sich im Sturmschritt die Gunst des Publicums, dessen gefeierter Liebling sie seither geworden ist, erworben ...[27]
- Original German (digital scan, p. 83, in the MDZ viewer): Frl. Topp befestigte den guten Eindruck durch ihr Spiel, das sich als ein männlich ernstes, edel virtuoses erwies; die Wahl des Faschingschwanks, so sehr sie sonst ihrer Künstlerschaft zur Ehre gereicht, war insofern nicht glücklich, daß ihr darin nur Gelegenheit gegeben war, sich vorzugsweise von Seite der Kraft zu zeigen.[29]
- Original German (digital scan, p. 999, in the MDZ viewer): Ausgabe Nr. 50 vom 29. November 1987: Die Pianistin Fräulein Alide Topp ist, wie bereits gemeldet wurde, in New York angekommen ... Das New Yorker Publicum sei ein sehr eigentümliches und selbstständiges, und ihm stehe der Autoritätsglaube ganz und gar. ... verlange es ein gewisses bescheidenes Auftreten selbst von Seiten der bedeutenderen Künstler ...[32]
- Original German (digital scan, p. 895, in the MDZ viewer): ... aber New York ist für alle diese Scharen von Pianisten und Pianistinnen, die wöchentlich bei uns einziehen, etwas zu klein. ... Natürlich nehme ich Künstlerinnen wie Fräulein Alide Topp, die soeben hier eingetroffen ist, aus, sie wird schon ihren Weg machen, aber für die große Mehrzahl der einwandernden Musiker dürfte der Aufenthalt in New York sehr arge Enttäuschungen mit sich bringen. New York, 25. Oct. 1867. Theodor Hagen.[34]
- Quote from page 163: ... he realized her gender would be an issue with the public. He claimed that, although there were many 'excellent female pianists,' Topp was the best. 'The 'virtuose Qualität' which distinguishes her makes us regard her as a male,' Bülow wrote, 'rather than as a female pianist. The delicate, handsome woman has a technique, an energy, a fire, which enables her to enter the lists with a Rubinstein or a Tausig.' In essence, he complimented her by making her what Katharine Ellis has called an 'honorary man'.[36]
- Source: Liszt´s Concerto in E-flat minor, No.1, for pianoforte and orchestra ... The first performance in Boston was by Alide Topp, at an afternoon concert in the first Triennial Festival of the Handel and Haydn Society. ... Miss Topp's first appearance in Boston was ... at an afternoon concert, May 6, when she played Schumann's concerto. ... Yet she could not persuade Mr. Dwight by her performance that Liszt's concerto was worth while, "for anything more wilful, whimsical, outrée, far-fetched than this composition is, anything more incoherent, uninspiring, frosty to the finer instincts, we have hardly known under the name of music." [1]
- Quote: The orchestra was hardly as happy in the accompaniment of Chopin's E-minor Concerto as in the purely orchestral pieces; short time for rehearsal was the only reason, but she played it wonderfully well; a little stiffly in the beginning, perhaps, from nervousness, creditable to her musical feeling; but that soon wore off.[52]
- Quote: European women pianists had made their way to America since the 1850s, perhaps seeking greater acceptance than possible on the continent. Several of a very high caliber toured extensively throughout the United States shortly before Rubinstein's arrival, including Alide Topp, a pupil of Hans von Bülow (in U.S. 1867-70); Anna Mehlig (1846-1928; in U.S. 1869–73), who studied briefly with Liszt, and Marie Krebs (1851-1900; in U.S. 1870-72). All three performed frequently with orchestra and gave numerous solo recitals, then still a rarity, especially for a visiting performer.[70]