Bruno Walter Autographs

Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876 – February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist, and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the United States in 1939. He worked closely with Gustav Mahler, whose music he helped to establish in the repertory, held major positions with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Salzburg Festival, Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Staatsoper Unter den Linden and Deutsche Oper Berlin, among others, made recordings of historical and artistic significance, and is widely considered to be one of the great conductors of the 20th century.
Born near Alexanderplatz in Berlin to a middle-class Jewish family, he began his musical education at the Stern Conservatory at the age of eight, making his first public appearance as a pianist when he was nine; he performed a concerto movement with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1889 and a full concerto with them in February 1890. He studied composition at Stern with Robert Radecke, and remained active as a composer until about 1910 (see list of compositions below). But it was hearing a concert in 1889 by the Berlin Philharmonic led by Hans von Bülow, he wrote, that "decided my future. Now I knew what I was meant for. No musical activity but that of an orchestral conductor could any longer be considered by me." He made his conducting début at the Cologne Opera with Albert Lortzing's Der Waffenschmied in 1894. Later that year he left for the Hamburg Opera to work as a chorus director. There he first met and worked with Gustav Mahler, whom he revered and with whose music he later became strongly identified.
In 1896, he was appointed Kapellmeister of the Stadttheater (municipal opera) in Breslau, on the strength of a recommendation from Mahler to the theater's director, Theodor Löwe. However, Löwe required that before taking up this position the young conductor change his last name from Schlesinger—which literally means Silesian—"because of its frequent occurrence in the capital of Silesia".\nIn a letter to his brother, paraphrased by biographers Erik Ryding and Rebecca Pechefsky, Walter said that he had "suggested several names, which Mahler wrote down and gave to Löwe, who returned the contract with the name Bruno Walter". These biographers add that Walter wrote to his parents that he found that "having to change his name was 'terrible'". They report that Mahler and his sisters "pressed" Walter to make the change of name, and add that contrary to occasional unsubstantiated reports, it "is unknown" whether Löwe's stipulation had anything to do with a desire to conceal Walter's Jewish origins.
Read more about Bruno Walter on Wikipedia

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Traded items with a signature of Bruno Walter

The most expensive item with a signature of Bruno Walter (Rare Bruno Walter Signed Mozart Music Quote PSA DNA Autograph Auto Conductor) was sold in May 2025 for $897.25 while the cheapest item (BRUNO WALTER signed + more 1930 music signatures) found a new owner for $9.95 in August 2009. The month with the most items sold (3) was December 2019 with an average selling price of $260.00 for an autographed item of Bruno Walter. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in August 2020 with $335.93 and the month that saw the lowest prices with $24.50 was December 2022. In average, an autographed item from Bruno Walter is worth $96.77.

Most recently, these items with a signature of Bruno Walter were sold on eBay - click here for more items.

Picture	Item Title	Price	Store
	Bruno WALTER (Conductor) signed Philadelphia Orchestra program	$295.00
	Bruno WALTER (Conductor) signed Philadelphia Orchestra program	$295.00
	Bruno WALTER (Conductor): ORIGINAL Hand Signed Letter 1941	$79.00
	Bruno WALTER (Conductor): ORIGINAL Hand Signed Letter 1941	$79.00
	Bruno Walter Autograph Letter and Photograph	$214.95
	Bruno Walter Autograph Letter and Photograph	$214.95
	Bruno Walter German Conductor Autograph Letter to Symphony Manager Harrington	$174.99
	Bruno Walter German Conductor Autograph Letter to Symphony Manager Harrington	$174.99
	Bruno Walter signed autograh vinyl	$53.98
	Bruno Walter signed autograph vinyl LP	$24.50
	Bruno Walter signed autograph vinyl LP	$24.50
	Conductor Bruno Walter Autograph with Music Symbol	$39.95
	Conductor Bruno Walter Autograph with Music Symbol	$39.95
	Vintg Autograph Photo Bruno Walter NY Philharmonic director 1947-1949 Signature	$184.85
	Vintg Autograph Photo Bruno Walter NY Philharmonic director 1947-1949 Signature	$184.85