Joseph Joachim

Joseph Joachim (June 28, 1831 – August 15, 1907) was a violinist, conductor and composer. He is regarded as one of the most influential violinists of all time.

Legacy

The most notable of Joachim's achievements was the revival of the Sonate e Partite per violino solo, BWV 1001-1006, by Johann Sebastian Bach, and the Romanzen, Ops. 40 and 50, as well as the Violin concerto in D major, Op. 61, by Ludwig van Beethoven. Not only did he help their induction into standard violin repertoire, without his efforts (and his students'), some of these works would have been permanently lost. His musicianship also had a significant influence over the orchestral music of Franz Liszt and Ricard Wagner, explemfied by the proximity of the violin parts to Joachim's composition style. Wagner's Walkürenritt, from the opera Die Walküre was a perfect example of Joachim's influence.

Related Topics:
Johann Sebastian Bach - Ludwig van Beethoven - Franz Liszt - Ricard Wagner - Walkürenritt - Die Walküre

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A number of his composer colleagues, such as Johannes Brahms, Max Bruch, Antonin Dvo?ák, and Robert Schumann, also composed concerti with Joachim in mind, many of which also became standard numbers. His reactions to some of them, however, were less than luke warm. Despite his close friendship with Brahms, and his countless consultations with the violinist, Joachim only performed the Brahms Concerto (D major, Op. 77) six times in his career. In the mean time, he performed the concerti of Dvo?ák (a minor, Op. 53) and Schumann (a minor) not at all. The most interesting work written for Joachim was the FAE sonata a collaboration between Schumann, Brahms, and Albert Dietrich. The title was based on Joachim's motto, Frei aber Einsam (free but lonely). Although the sonata is rarely performed in its entirity, the third movement, the Scherzo in c minor, composed by Brahms, is still frequently played to-day. As a conductor, Joachim conducted the English premiere of Brahms' Symphony No. 1

Related Topics:
Johannes Brahms - Max Bruch - Antonin Dvo?ák - Robert Schumann - Albert Dietrich - Symphony No. 1

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Joachim's activities as a composer are less well known. He has a reputation as a competent though rather characterless composer, and none of his works are regularly performed today. Among his compositions are various works for the violin (including three concertos) and overtures to Shakespeare's Hamlet and Henry IV. He also wrote cadenzas for a number of other composers' concertos (including ones for the Beethoven and Brahms). The only remaining noteworthy composition was his Hungarian concerto No 2 in d minor, Op 11.

Related Topics:
Overture - Cadenza

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According to the Henley Atlas of Violin Makers, during time he spent in France Joachim performed on a violin made by French luthier Charles Jean Baptiste Collin-Mezin.

Related Topics:
Henley Atlas of Violin Makers - Luthier - Charles Jean Baptiste Collin-Mezin

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