I was a boy of fourteen when I came to London with my father in 1848, having been born on November 6th, 1833. My father, Adolph Ganz, had been for more than twenty-five years Kapellmeister at the Opera at Mainz, on the Rhine, and the Grand-duke of Hesse-Darmstadt bestowed on him the title of Grossherzoglicher Hofkapellmeister Grand Ducal Court Conductor. He brought the opera there to a high pitch of perfection. It was his forte that he could conduct most of the classical operas from memory I mean, without having the score before him and could also write out each orchestral part from memory. Furthermore, although self-taught, he could play every instrument in the orchestra. << less