August Wilhelmj

August Wilhelmj
photo of August Wilhelmj
Born (1845-09-21)21 September 1845
Usingen, Duchy of Nassau
Died 22 January 1908(1908-01-22) (aged 62)
London
Nationality German
Other names August Emil Daniel Ferdinand Wilhelmj
Occupation Violinist

August Emil Daniel Ferdinand Wilhelmj (German pronunciation: [vɪlˈhɛlmi]; 21 September 1845 in Usingen – 22 January 1908 in London) was a German violinist and teacher.[1]

Wilhelmj was considered a child prodigy. When Henriette Sontag heard him in 1852, when he was seven, she said "You will be the German Paganini".[2] In 1861, Franz Liszt heard him and sent him to Ferdinand David with a letter containing the words "Let me present you the future Paganini!".[3] His teachers included: Ferdinand David, for the violin, Moritz Hauptmann, for music theory and composition, and Joachim Raff for composition.[1]

He has become famous for his late nineteenth century arrangement of the second movement of J. S. Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 for violin and piano, known as Air on the G String[2] and for his re-orchestration of the 1st movement of Niccolò Paganini's Violin Concerto No.1 in D major Op.6 (1883/84).[4]

From 1894 on he was a Professor of violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Among his pupils were American violinist Nahan Franko, Canadian musician Donald Heins, and the Australian conductor Aylmer Buesst.[1] Wilhelmj owned a Stradivarius 1725 violin from 1866 until his retirement, which later came to be known by his name.[5]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Duncan Druce. "August Wilhelmj". CHASE: Collection of Historical Annotated String Editions. University of Leeds School of Music. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Aryeh Oron. "August Wilhelmj (Arranger)". Bach Canatas Website. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  3. ↑ Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954, reprinted 1966, Vol. IX, p. 297
  4. ↑ Ivry Gitlis plays Paganini-Wilhelmj Violin Concerto No.1 (rec.1950)
  5. ↑ "Stradivarius 1725 Violin: Wilhelmj". Instruments Owned by Nippon Music Foundation. Nippon Music Foundation. Retrieved March 25, 2015.

Further reading

External links

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