From 1880 to 1884 he conducted an orchestra at the Château de Valrose in Nice. This neo-Gothic builiding, which contained a 400-seat concert hall, was built by Paul von Derwies a German-Russian railroad magnate. Many distinguished musicians of the day, such as Adelina Patti (soprano) Francis Planté (pianist) César Thomson and Joseph Joachim (violins) performed there.
