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Scan 587
Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1918
12 lines. Read by computer on 12 September 2026. Printed page 523. See the scan on archive.org.
1receiving a rapturous ovation. He was equally successful in his first appearance at a Monday Popular Concert on Nov. 26 following, and likewise in his début at the Crystal Palace on Dec. 1. In 1867 Wilhelmj was in France and Italy. In Paris — through Joachim’s introduction — he was first heard at Pasdeloup’s concert, given at the Cirque Napoléon on Jan. 20. Then, in the autumn, he went to Florence, where he made his début on Dec. 15, 1867, at the Società del Quartetto. At the fourth concert of the Society, on Dec. 29, Wilhelmj was elected Protettore della Società. The 27th of Jan. 1868 saw the violinist’s first appearance in St. Petersburg, whither, with Hector Berlioz, he had been invited by the Grand Duchess Helena Paulovna. The year 1869 was spent in revisiting France, Switzerland, and Belgium; the following year in touring through England, Scotland, and Ireland, with Santley. From the British Isles Wilhelmj went — in 1871 — for a tour that extended through Holland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. During these travels he was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Stockholm; made a knight of the order of Gustavus Vasa, and decorated with the grand medal of Arts and Sciences — also at Stockholm. His first appearance before a Berlin audience was on Oct. 22, 1872, at a Singakademie concert, and on March 22, 1873, he made his first appearance in Vienna. In 1875 Wilhelmj was in England again. He played at the Philharmonic Society’s concert in memory of Sterndale Bennett, and occupied himself during the year in propagating the cult of Wagner in England, playing his music on all occasions, and leading orchestral performances of the German master’s works. In 1876 Wilhelmj led the orchestra at Bayreuth, coming to England again in 1877. In the same year he induced Wagner to journey to London and conduct the famous festival at the Albert Hall. Wilhelmj led the violins, and organised two extra concerts on a less lavish scale on May 28 and 29. After this, Wilhelmj suffered a serious illness. In 1878 he started on his great tour round the world, which lasted until 1882, when he passed through London on his way to Germany, home to his villa at Mosbach-Biberich on the Rhine, after which he practically retired from public life for some time. During his stay at Biberich, Wilhelmj founded a violin school in conjunction with R. Niemann, in the neighbouring Wiesbaden. In 1885 he was travelling again, and it was in this year that — at the invitation of the Sultan of Turkey — he had the unique experience of playing before the ladies of the Seraglio. Probably Wilhelmj was the only violinist to whom such a compliment had, until then, been paid. The Sultan decorated him with the order of the Medjidie, of the second class, and also presented him with some fine diamonds. Blasewitz, near Dresden, became Wilhelmj’s home from 1886 until 1893, in which year he installed himself in London. In 1894 he was appointed principal violin professor at the Guildhall School of Music. He also taught privately, and although he never appeared at London concerts during the latter years of his life, Wilhelmj’s massive, dignified figure, with its flowing grey hair, crowned with a wide-brimmed soft felt hat, was familiar to concert-goers as a member of the audience. He died after a short illness at his residence, 54 Priory Road, West Hampstead, Jan. 22, 1908. He was twice married; (1) to the Baroness Liphardt — a niece of Ferdinand David — on May 29, 1866; (2) to Miss Mariella Mausch-Jerret, a distinguished Dresden pianist, in 1895. His son Adolf Wilhelmj (b. March 31, 1872) was appointed violin professor to the Belfast Conservatoire, in 1895.
3The qualities that combined to make Wilhelmj one of the greatest violinists of his day may be summed up in the force of his personality, the great certainty of his technique, his rich tone, cultured rendering and splendid poise. He stood for dignity and breadth. He believed that people wanted intellectual renderings, and he aimed at an exact balance of intellect and imagination, conveying a suggestion of reserve force that was essentially majestic.
5In his later years he took an active interest in the technique of violin-making, and was a fervent patron and champion of more than one continental maker of the present day. He was convinced that the ‘secret of the Cremona makers’ lay in varnishing their violins whilst the backs and bellies were fixed only to the top and bottom blocks of the instruments, the final gluing taking place after the varnish was dry. His house in Avenue Road was (in 1894) a museum of modern-made violins, and he was for ever encouraging amateur violin-makers to devote themselves to the art.
7He composed several pieces for the violin, and was very successful in arranging Wagner’s ‘Preislied’ and other notable themes for the violin. He also wrote a ‘Modern Violin School’ with James Brown, which was published by Novello & Co., in six parts. Violin Times, Feb. 1894; Musical Times, June 1901; Today, vol. i. No. 5. Sept. 1883; Times, Jan. 25, 1908; Lahee, Famous Violinists; Cenni Storici intorno alla Società del Quartetto in Firenze. Also personal interviews. E. H-A.
9WILHELMUS VAN NASSOUWE is the national anthem of Holland. The origin both of the words and the melody has given rise to much discussion.1 It is still a point of
111 In vol. v. of the Tijdschrift der Vereeniging the subject is discussed at full length by Loman, van Riemsdijk, Land, Enschedé, and van Duyse. Fifteen versions of the song are placed one under the other to show wherein they differ, and their various sources are stated.
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