Joseph Joachim

Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim's signature

Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant violinists of the 19th century.

Life

Origins

Joseph Joachim's birth house in Kittsee

Joseph Joachim was born in Kittsee (Kopčany/Köpcsény) in Burgenland, which was then part of the Kingdom of Hungary but is now in eastern Austria. He was the seventh of eight children born to Julius, a wool merchant, and Fanny Joachim, who were of Hungarian Jewish origin. His infancy was spent as a member of the Kittsee Kehilla (Jewish community), one of Hungary's prominent Siebengemeinden ('Seven Communities') under the protectorate of the Esterházy family. He was a first cousin of Fanny Wittgenstein, the mother of Karl Wittgenstein and the grandmother of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and the pianist Paul Wittgenstein.[1]

Early career

In 1833 his family moved to Pest, where he studied violin with Stanisław Serwaczyński, the concertmaster of the opera in Pest. (Serwaczyński later moved back to Lublin, Poland, where he taught Wieniawski.) In 1839, Joachim continued his studies at the Vienna Conservatory (briefly with Miska Hauser and Georg Hellmesberger, Sr.; finally – and most significantly – with Joseph Böhm). He was taken by his cousin, Fanny Wittgenstein to live and study in Leipzig, where he became a protégé of Felix Mendelssohn, who arranged for him to study theory and composition with Moritz Hauptmann at the Leipzig Conservatory.[2] In his début performance in the Leipzig Gewandhaus he played the Otello Fantasy by Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst.

London Philharmonic Debut, Beethoven Violin Concerto

On 27 May 1844 Joachim, at age not quite 13, in his London Philharmonic debut with Mendelssohn conducting, played the solo part in Beethoven's violin concerto. This was a triumph in several respects, as described by R. W. Eshbach.[3] The Philharmonic had a policy against performers so young, but an exception was made after auditions persuaded gatherings of distinguished musicians and music lovers that Joachim had mature capabilities. Despite Beethoven's recognition as one of the greatest composers, and the ranking nowadays of his violin concerto as among the greatest few, it was far from being so ranked before Joachim's performance. Ludwig Spohr had harshly criticized it, and after the London premiere by violinist Edward Eliason, a critic had said it "might have been written by any third or fourth rate composer." But Joachim was very well prepared to play Beethoven's concerto, having written his own cadenzas for it and memorized the piece. The audience anticipated great things, having got word from the rehearsal, and so, Mendelssohn wrote, "frenetic applause began" as soon as Joachim stepped in front of the orchestra. The beginning was applauded still more, and "cheers of the audience accompanied every ... part of the concerto." Reviewers also had high praise. One for 'The Musical World' wrote "The greatest violinists hold this concerto in awe ... Young Joachim ... attacked it with the vigour and determination of the most accomplished artist ... no master could have read it better," and the two cadenzas, written by Joachim, were "tremendous feats ... ingeniously composed". Another reviewer, for the 'Illustrated London News', wrote that Joachim "is perhaps the first violin player, not only of his age, but of his siècle" [century]. "He performed Beethoven's solitary concerto, which we have heard all the great performers of the last twenty years attempt, and invariably fail in ... its performance was an eloquent vindication of the master-spirit who imagined it." A third reviewer, for the 'Morning Post', wrote that the concerto "has been generally regarded by violin-players as not a proper and effective development of the powers of their instrument" but that Joachim's performance "is beyond all praise, and defies all description ... Joachim's performance was altogether unprecedented." Joachim remained a favorite with the English public for the rest of his career.

Maturity

Following Mendelssohn's death in 1847, Joachim stayed briefly in Leipzig, teaching at the Conservatorium and playing on the first desk of the Gewandhaus Orchestra with Ferdinand David. In 1848, Franz Liszt took up residence in Weimar, determined to re-establish the town's reputation as the Athens of Germany. There, he gathered a circle of young avant-garde disciples, vocally opposed to the conservatism of the Leipzig circle. Joachim was amongst the first of these. He served Liszt as concertmaster, and for several years enthusiastically embraced the new "psychological music," as he called it. In 1852 he moved to Hanover, at the same time dissociating himself from the musical ideals of the 'New German School' (Liszt, Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, and their followers, as defined by journalist Franz Brendel). "The worship of Wagner's music permeating musical taste in Weimar was to Joachim inordinate and unacceptable."[4] In 1853, Joachim met the then publicly unknown 20-year-old Brahms, was highly impressed by him, and gave him a letter of recommendation to Robert Schumann. Brahms was received by Schumann and his wife Clara with great enthusiasm. After Robert's mental breakdown in 1854 and death in 1856, Joachim, Clara, and Brahms remained lifelong friends and shared musical views.

Early on, Brahms already played and composed for the piano, which "he had mastered in a supreme fashion", but he felt deficient in orchestration.[5] In 1854 he began composing what was to become his first piano concerto, his first orchestral piece. He sent a score of the first movement to Joachim, requesting his advice.[6] After getting Joachim's response, Brahms wrote to him "A thousand thanks for having studied the first movement in such a sympathetic and careful manner. I have learned a great deal from your remarks. As a musician I really have no greater wish than to have more talent so that I can learn still more from such a friend."[7] Later in the composition of the concerto, which took four years, Brahms wrote to Joachim "I am sending you the rondo once more. And just like the last time, I beg for some really severe criticism."[8]

Joachim's break with Liszt became final in August 1857, when he wrote to his former mentor: "I am completely out of sympathy with your music; it contradicts everything which from early youth I have taken as mental nourishment from the spirit of our great masters."

Joseph and Amalie Joachim

Joachim's time in Hanover was his most prolific period of composition. Then and during the rest of his career, he frequently performed with Clara Schumann. For example, in October–November 1857 they took a recital tour together to Dresden, Leipzig, and Munich.[9] St. James's Hall, London, which opened in 1858, hosted a series of "Popular Concerts" of chamber music, of which programmes from 1867 through 1904 are preserved.[10] Joachim appears a great many times. He visited London each year from 1866 on.[11] In March 1898 and in 1901-1904 Joachim appeared in his own quartet of players, but otherwise far more often he appeared with resident Popular Concerts artists Joseph Ries, second violin, J. B. Zerbini,[12] first viola, and Alfredo Piatti, first cello, reputed to be "one of the most celebrated cellists" of the time. George Bernard Shaw wrote that the Popular Concerts had helped greatly to spread and enlighten musical taste in England.[13] Joachim had been a mainstay of the chamber music Popular Concerts.

At 18 of the Popular Concerts at least, Clara Schumann performed along with Joachim, Zerbini and Piatti, presumably playing piano quartets (without second violin). (The programs of those concerts very likely also included string quartets in which she of course did not play, as Ries is also listed.) Her favorite piece of that form was Brahms's Piano Quartet in A major. She wrote to Brahms 27 February 1882 from London that the piece had received "much applause".[14] About a performance of it in Liverpool 11 February she had written in her diary that it was "warmly received, much to my surprise as the public here is far less receptive than that in London."[15] In January 1867 there had been a tour to Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland, by Joachim, Clara, her oldest daughter Marie, Ries, Zerbini, Piatti, two English sisters "Miss Pyne," one a singer, and a Mr. Saunders who managed all the arrangements. Marie Schumann wrote home from Manchester that in Edinburgh Clara "was received with tempestuous applause and had to give an encore, so had Joachim. Piatti, too, is always tremendously liked."[16]

Joachim had extensive correspondence with both Clara and Brahms, as Brahms greatly valued Joachim's opinion of his new compositions. In 1860 Brahms and Joachim jointly wrote a manifesto against the "progressive" music of the 'New German' School, in reaction to the polemics of Brendel's Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. This manifesto, a volley in the War of the Romantics, had originally few (four[2]) signers (more later) and met with a mixed reception, being heavily derided by followers of Wagner.[17]

The famous Joachim Quartet. From left to right: Robert Hausmann (cello), Josef Joachim (1st violin), Emanuel Wirth (viola) and Karel Halíř (2nd violin)

On 10 May 1863 Joachim married the contralto Amalie Schneeweiss (stage name: Amalie Weiss) (1839–99). Amalie gave up her own promising career as an opera singer and gave birth to six children. She continued to perform in oratorios and to give lieder recitals. In 1865 Joachim quit the service of the King of Hanover in protest, when the Intendant of the Opera refused to advance one of the orchestral players (Jakob Grün) because of the latter's Jewish birth.[18] In 1866, Joachim moved to Berlin, where he was invited to help found a new department of the Royal Academy of Music. There he became the director of the Hochschule für ausübende Tonkunst, or High School for Musical Performance.

On Good Friday, 10 April 1868, Joachim and his wife joined their friend, Johannes Brahms, in the celebration of one of Brahms' greatest triumphs, the first complete performance of his German Requiem at the Bremen Cathedral. Amalie Joachim sang "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth" and Joseph Joachim played Schumann's Abendlied. It was a glorious occasion, after which about 100 of the composer's friends, the Joachims, Clara Schumann, Albert Dietrich and his wife, Max Bruch and others gathered at the Bremen Rathskeller.

In 1869, the Joachim String Quartet was formed, which quickly gained a reputation as Europe's finest. Other members of the Quartet were Karel Halíř (2nd violin), Emanuel Wirth (viola) and Robert Hausmann (cello).

In 1878 while writing his violin concerto, Brahms consulted Joachim, who "freely gave him encouragement and technical advice".[19] Brahms asked Joachim to write the cadenza for the concerto, as he did.

In 1884, Joachim and his wife separated after he became convinced that she was having an affair with the publisher Fritz Simrock. Brahms, certain that Joachim's suspicions were groundless, wrote a sympathetic letter to Amalie, which she later produced as evidence in Joachim's divorce proceeding against her. This led to a cooling of Brahms and Joachim's friendship, which was not restored until some years later, when Brahms composed the Double Concerto in A minor for violin and cello, Op. 102, 1887, as a peace offering to his old friend. It was co-dedicated to the first performers, Joachim and Robert Hausmann. When writing to Clara about the double concerto, he said "unfortunately Joachim has given up composing."[20]

On 16 April 1889, in England, Joseph Joachim was presented a Stradivarius violin and Tourte bow once owned by Raphael Georg Kiesewetter. In late 1895 both Brahms and Joachim were present at the opening of the new Tonhalle at Zurich, Switzerland; Brahms conducted and Joachim was assistant conductor. But in April, two years later, Joachim was to lose forever this revered friend, as Johannes Brahms died at the age of 64 at Vienna. At Meiningen, in December 1899, it was Joachim who made the speech when a statue to Brahms was unveiled.

Joseph Joachim, by Philip Alexius de László, 1903

During 1899, Joachim was invited to become president of the newly established Oxford & Cambridge Musical Club in London. He remained club president until his death.[21]

In Berlin, on 17 August 1903, Joachim recorded five sides for The Gramophone & Typewriter Ltd (G&T), which remain a fascinating and valuable source of information about 19th-century styles of violin playing. He is the earliest violinist of distinction known to have recorded, only to be followed soon thereafter when Sarasate made some recordings the following year.

Joachim's portrait was twice painted by Philip de László. A portrait of Joachim was painted by John Singer Sargent[22] and presented to him at the 1904 "Diamond Jubilee" celebration of his sixtieth anniversary of his first appearance in London. In Berlin, a great concert took place, at which his pupils past and present, 116 violinists and violists, with 24 cellists who attended his classes played under the direction of Fritz Steinbach, a conductor of note, for his interpretations of Brahms' music. The great moment of celebration came when Joachim, without the slightest hesitation, responded to the spontaneous request to play Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major.

Joachim remained in Berlin until his death in 1907.

Repertoire

Amalie's and Joseph's grave in Berlin-Charlottenburg

Among the most notable of Joachim's achievements were the revivals of Bach's Sonatas and partitas for solo violin, BWV 1001-1006, and particularly of Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61. Joachim was the second violinist to play Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, which he studied with the composer. Joachim played a pivotal role in the career of Brahms, and remained a tireless advocate of Brahms's compositions through all the vicissitudes of their friendship. He conducted the English premiere of Brahms's Symphony No. 1 in C minor.

A number of Joachim's composer colleagues, including Schumann, Brahms, Bruch, and Dvořák, composed concerti with Joachim in mind, many of which entered the standard repertory. Nevertheless, Joachim's solo repertoire remained relatively restricted. He never performed Schumann's Violin Concerto in D minor, which Schumann wrote especially for him, or Dvořák's Violin Concerto in A minor, although Dvořák had earnestly solicited his advice about the piece, dedicated it to him, and would have liked him to premiere it. The most unusual work written for Joachim was the F-A-E Sonata, a collaboration between Schumann, Brahms, and Albert Dietrich, based upon the initials of Joachim's motto, Frei aber Einsam (which can be translated as "free but lonely", "free but alone", or "free but solitary"). Although the sonata is rarely performed in its entirety, the third movement, the Scherzo in C minor, composed by Brahms, is still frequently played today.

Compositions

Joachim's own compositions are less well known. He gave opus numbers to 14 compositions and composed about an equal number of pieces without opus numbers. Among his compositions are various works for the violin (including three concerti) and overtures to Shakespeare's Hamlet and Henry IV. He also wrote cadenzas for a number of other composers' concerti (including the Beethoven and Brahms concerti). His most highly regarded composition is his Hungarian concerto (Violin Concerto No 2 in D minor, Op. 11).

Joseph Joachim

List of compositions

Original compositions

Joseph Joachim (1853) by Adolph Menzel

An orchestration

Cadenzas

Recordings of Joachim's compositions

Joseph Joachim at age 53

Joachim's own discography

Original pressings are single-sided and have a flat red G&T label. Later reeditions have a black G&T label (or, from 1909, a label showing the 'His Master's Voice' trade-mark), and those made for the German market are double-sided. They are better in quality.

Joachim's students

Joseph Joachim and the young Franz von Vecsey. Note the strongly incurving, arthritic first finger of his left hand. The chair in which he is sitting was a special present to him. He willed it to Donald Tovey, and it is now owned by the University of Edinburgh Museum.[24]

Other pupils are mentioned by Wilhelm Joseph von Wasielewski in his "Die Violine und Ihre Meister."

Joachim's instruments

Joseph Joachim

Cultural references

The English poet Robert Bridges wrote a sonnet about Joachim in his first major work of poetry The Growth of Love.[52]

Notes

  1. ↑ Monk Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius: p.5
  2. 1 2 Avins
  3. ↑ "London Philharmonic Debut". Joseph Joachim.
  4. ↑ Campbell, 1981, p. 76
  5. ↑ Gal, p. 60
  6. ↑ Gal, p. 61
  7. ↑ Gal, p. 114
  8. ↑ Gal, p. 115
  9. ↑ Litzmann, Berthold, 1913, Clara Schumann: An Artist's Life based on material found in Diaries and Letters, translated from the fourth German edition by Grace E. Hadow, MacMillan, London, p. 152.
  10. ↑ Arts & Humanities Research Council Concert Programmes, St. James's Hall Concerts (1867-1904)
  11. ↑ Avins, Styra, "Joseph Joachim", in Oxford Companion to Music, ed. Alison Latham, Oxford University Press, 2002-2003, p. 637
  12. ↑ Zerbini was of Australian origin. An obituary for him in the Illustrated Australian News (Melbourne) 1 January 1892 says he was "acknowledged to be one of the finest viola players in the world."
  13. ↑ Shaw, George Bernard (1937), London Music in 1888-89 as heard by Corno di Bassetto, etc. (Constable, London), p. 297
  14. ↑ Litzmann, p. 289
  15. ↑ Litzmann, p. 294
  16. ↑ Litzmann, pp. 249-250
  17. ↑ Jan Swafford, Johannes Brahms, Knopf (1997) reprinted Papermac (199) pp. 207–211
  18. ↑ Moser (1901) 202–6
  19. ↑ Gal p. 216
  20. ↑ Gal, p. 218
  21. ↑ "OCMC history". ocmc.org.uk.
  22. ↑ http://jssgallery.org/Paintings/Joseph_Joachim.htm
  23. ↑ There is a recording by the Houston Symphony conducted by Christoph Eschenbach.
  24. ↑ The University of Edinburgh Museums, Galleries & Collections
  25. ↑ "Bronislaw Huberman". huberman.info.
  26. ↑ "Hans Letz". theviolinsite.com.
  27. ↑ de:Bernhard Listemann
  28. ↑ "Russian Symphony Orchestra of New York". stokowski.org.
  29. ↑ "Department of Music". acu.edu.
  30. ↑ "Famous Violinists of To-Day and Yesterday". google.com.
  31. 1 2 "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  32. ↑ Cozio.com: violin by Antonio Stradivari, 1714 (Joachim)
  33. ↑ "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  34. ↑ "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  35. ↑ "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  36. ↑ "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  37. ↑ "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  38. ↑ "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  39. ↑ Cozio.com: violin by Antonio Stradivari, 1722 (Laurie)
  40. ↑ "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  41. ↑ Cozio.com: violin by Antonio Stradivari, 1725 (Chaconne; Hammig)
  42. ↑ http://www.yca.org/kamio.html
  43. ↑ "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  44. ↑ Bowed Stringed Instruments Made Before 1800 at the National Music Museum
  45. ↑ "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  46. ↑ Cozio.com: violin by Francesco Ruggieri (ex-Joachim)
  47. ↑ "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  48. ↑ http://www.caline.com/media/calvin/Further%20Adventures-%20Golden%20Script%20with%20Lighting.doc
  49. ↑ "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  50. ↑ "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  51. ↑ "Tarisio". cozio.com.
  52. ↑ "Robert Bridges". sonnets.org.

References

Joseph Joachim

External links

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