JOACHIM, Joseph

Born in Kitsee, near Pressburg [now Bratislava], June 28, 1831
Died in Berlin, Aug 15, 1907¹

• Violinist, composer, conductor, and teacher². Historically, Joachim was more famous as a virtuoso violinist than as a composer.
• Joachim formed connections and relationships with many notable musicians of the day, such as Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt, Robert and Clara Schumann, and Johannes Brahms.³
• Joachim’s friendship with Brahms was a significant source of inspiration for his compositional output. His most prolific years of writing coincided with his closest years of friendship with Brahms.⁴

Biography from the Virtual Jewish Library

1. Beatrix Borchard and Katharina Uhde, “Joachim, Joseph,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed January 21, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000014322.
2. Roger Thomas Oliver, “Joachim, Joseph,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 6^th ed. (London: Macmillan, 1980), 9:652-53.
3. Ibid.
4. Leon Botstein, Essay in accompanying booklet, Joachim: Overtures; Henry IV & Hamlet; Violin Concerto performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leon Botstein, IMP 27, 1991, compact disc.