Arthur Nikisch was born in Hungary (then the Austro-Hungarian Empire). His father was from Moravia, his mother was Hungarian. As a child he showed exceptional musical talent. He learned the piano and the violin and studied at the Vienna Conservatory, where he won prizes for composition and for playing the violin and piano. He was playing the violin in the orchestra when Richard Wagner conducted a concert in Bayreuth to celebrate the beginning of the building of his new theatre: the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. He joined the Vienna Court Orchestra where he played in concerts that were conducted by famous composers such as Brahms, Liszt, Verdi and Wagner. Soon he started his career as conductor in Leipzig. He quickly became internationally famous. In 1889 he was invited to conduct the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He conducted many concerts in the USA. In 1893 he became conductor of the Budapest Opera. Two years later he also became conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, taking the place of Carl Reinecke. In the same year he also became the main conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. He remained conductor of these two world famous orchestras until his death.