Joachim, Joseph

Joachim, Joseph (yō`sĕf yō`äkhĭm), 1831–1907, Hungarian violinist; friend of Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Schumann. In his long career his performances of violin masterpieces came to be accepted as models. Joachim was concertmaster under Liszt at Weimar, 1849–53; later he became (1868) musical director of the Berlin Hochschule. The Joachim quartet, which he founded in 1869, presented the conservative quartet repertory of the 19th cent. in definitive interpretations. He composed cadenzas for the violin concertos of Beethoven and Brahms.

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Joachim, Joseph

(born June 28, 1831, Kittsee, near Pressburg, Austria-Hungary—died Aug. 15, 1907, Berlin, German Empire) Austro-Hungarian violinist. A prodigy, he began study as a child in Pest, continuing later in Vienna and Leipzig, where he was associated with Felix Mendelssohn. He was concertmaster at Weimar under Franz Liszt (1850–52), but their tastes in music diverged radically. He became close to Johannes Brahms, who sought Joachim's advice about his violin concerto. Joachim wrote cadenzas that are still used for a number of concertos. As the longtime head of Berlin's Hochschule (1868–1905), he developed it into a first-rank conservatory.