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.

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Joachim, Joseph 

Born June 28, 1831, in Kittsee, near Pressburg; died Aug. 15, 1907, in Berlin. Hungarian violinist, composer, and teacher.

Joachim studied under J. Böhm and F. David. His concert career began when he was seven years old. From 1849 to 1853 he was concertmaster of the court orchestra in Weimar. From 1853 to 1866 he was concertmaster (from 1859 director) of the orchestra in Hanover. In 1868 he became the director and a professor at the Higher School of Music in Berlin. Among his pupils were L.S. Auer, W. Burmester, and B. Huberman. In 1869, Joachim founded a string quartet. He toured in England, France, Austria, and Russia (for the first time in 1872). He was an outstanding interpreter of classical music. Joachim’s skill as a performer began a new epoch for the art of the violin. He was a composer, primarily of works for the violin, including three concerti; the most famous is Concerto No. 2 (“Hungarian”). He also wrote piano pieces, reworkings of Hungarian Dances for violin and piano, cadenzas, and other works. He wrote a method for violin technique.

REFERENCES

Breitburg, Iu. Iozef Ioakhim—pedagog i ispolnitel’. Moscow, 1966.
Moser, A. Joseph Joachim, vols. 1–2. Berlin, 1908–10.