Recognized today more as a violin virtuoso than as a
composer, Joseph Joachim was a leading figure during the Romantic era and a
close associate of Johannes Brahms. He was born on June 28, 1831 in Kittsee,
near Bratislava and Eisenstadt, the seventh of eight children of Julius and
Fanny Joachim, who were both of Hungarian Jewish descent. In 1833, his family
moved to Pest where later, at the age of five, Joachim began violin lessons
with the concertmaster of the Pest opera. He excelled quickly on the
instrument, and in 1839 was taken to the Vienna Conservatory to continue his
studies. He moved again, this time taken by his cousin, Fanny Wittgenstein, to
study in Leipzig where he became the protégé of Felix Mendelssohn. At the age
of twelve, he gave a triumphal performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto in
London, solidifying his reputation with the English public and helping to
establish the neglected work as part of the standard repertoire.
After Mendelssohn's death in 1847, Joachim remained briefly
in Leipzig, teaching at the Conservatorium and playing in the Gewandhaus
Orchestra. The following year, Franz Liszt took up residence in Weimar
determined to re-establish the town as the cultural center of Germany. Young
musicians came to Weimar in support of Liszt's cause, Joachim being one of the
first among them. However, his tenure in Weimar and as a disciple of Liszt was
only temporary. In 1852, he moved to Hanover and began distancing himself from
Liszt and the "New German School," and finally broke with it formally in 1857.
He began to associate with Robert and Clara Schumann, and most importantly
Johannes Brahms, forming a close friendship with the composer that lasted until
the latter's death in 1897. As a composer, Joachim's most productive period was
in Hanover. He and Brahms even began a mutual exchange of critiquing each
other's works and compositional exercises. However, Brahms was far more
dedicated to composition than Joachim. Despite a fair number of solo works for
violin, including concerti, as well as orchestral overtures, Joachim's
compositions are little known today, the sole exception being his Hungarian Concerto (Violin Concerto No.
2 in D minor, op. 11).
In 1866, Joachim and his wife, Amalie, moved to Berlin where
he was appointed director of the newly formed High School for Musical
Performance at the Royal Academy of Music. A few years later in 1869, he formed
the Joachim String Quartet which quickly came to be regarded as Europe's
finest. Though a gifted performer, he kept his repertoire small. In fact, both
Robert Schumann and Antonín Dvořák wrote concerti with him in mind yet
he never performed them. Even Brahms's own Violin Concerto in D major, he
performed only six times during his career despite being an enthusiastic and
tireless promoter of his music. Nevertheless, he was instrumental in reviving
Beethoven's Violin Concerto and J. S. Bach's Sonata and
Partitas and establishing them as part of the standard repertoire.
Succumbing to suspicions
and jealousy, Joachim separated from his wife in 1884, believing her to be
having an affair with the publisher Franz Simrock. To make matters worse,
Brahms took Amalie's side, knowing that Joachim was prone to let his
imagination run away with him. A heartfelt letter from Brahms to Amalie was
produced as evidence in the divorce proceedings which placed a severe strain on
the composer's friendship with Joachim. However, the two were reconciled when
Brahms composed the Double Concerto in A minor for violin and cello and
presented it as an olive branch to Joachim. On August 15, 1907, Joachim passed
away in Berlin.
Joseph Joachim
Biography
Recognized today more as a violin virtuoso than as a composer, Joseph Joachim was a leading figure during the Romantic era and a close associate of Johannes Brahms. He was born on June 28, 1831 in Kittsee, near Bratislava and Eisenstadt, the seventh of eight children of Julius and Fanny Joachim, who were both of Hungarian Jewish descent. In 1833, his family moved to Pest where later, at the age of five, Joachim began violin lessons with the concertmaster of the Pest opera. He excelled quickly on the instrument, and in 1839 was taken to the Vienna Conservatory to continue his studies. He moved again, this time taken by his cousin, Fanny Wittgenstein, to study in Leipzig where he became the protégé of Felix Mendelssohn. At the age of twelve, he gave a triumphal performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto in London, solidifying his reputation with the English public and helping to establish the neglected work as part of the standard repertoire.
After Mendelssohn's death in 1847, Joachim remained briefly in Leipzig, teaching at the Conservatorium and playing in the Gewandhaus Orchestra. The following year, Franz Liszt took up residence in Weimar determined to re-establish the town as the cultural center of Germany. Young musicians came to Weimar in support of Liszt's cause, Joachim being one of the first among them. However, his tenure in Weimar and as a disciple of Liszt was only temporary. In 1852, he moved to Hanover and began distancing himself from Liszt and the "New German School," and finally broke with it formally in 1857. He began to associate with Robert and Clara Schumann, and most importantly Johannes Brahms, forming a close friendship with the composer that lasted until the latter's death in 1897. As a composer, Joachim's most productive period was in Hanover. He and Brahms even began a mutual exchange of critiquing each other's works and compositional exercises. However, Brahms was far more dedicated to composition than Joachim. Despite a fair number of solo works for violin, including concerti, as well as orchestral overtures, Joachim's compositions are little known today, the sole exception being his Hungarian Concerto (Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, op. 11).
In 1866, Joachim and his wife, Amalie, moved to Berlin where he was appointed director of the newly formed High School for Musical Performance at the Royal Academy of Music. A few years later in 1869, he formed the Joachim String Quartet which quickly came to be regarded as Europe's finest. Though a gifted performer, he kept his repertoire small. In fact, both Robert Schumann and Antonín Dvořák wrote concerti with him in mind yet he never performed them. Even Brahms's own Violin Concerto in D major, he performed only six times during his career despite being an enthusiastic and tireless promoter of his music. Nevertheless, he was instrumental in reviving Beethoven's Violin Concerto and J. S. Bach's Sonata and Partitas and establishing them as part of the standard repertoire.
Succumbing to suspicions and jealousy, Joachim separated from his wife in 1884, believing her to be having an affair with the publisher Franz Simrock. To make matters worse, Brahms took Amalie's side, knowing that Joachim was prone to let his imagination run away with him. A heartfelt letter from Brahms to Amalie was produced as evidence in the divorce proceedings which placed a severe strain on the composer's friendship with Joachim. However, the two were reconciled when Brahms composed the Double Concerto in A minor for violin and cello and presented it as an olive branch to Joachim. On August 15, 1907, Joachim passed away in Berlin.