Scan 4
Musical Courier 1904-05-18: Vol 48 Iss 1260, 1904
45 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1LUITPOLD ST. 24.
2BERLIN, W.,
3MAY 1, 1904.
5In writing about the Joachim celebration, to take place on May 27 in London, I said in my letter last week that the fiftieth anniversary of the great violinist's first appearance in a Philharmonic concert would be commemorated. This was an error. It is his sixtieth anniversary that will be celebrated. It was on May 27, 1844, that the thirteen year old Joachim first played with the Philharmonic Society.
7That was, however, not his first appearance in London. He faced an English audience for the first time two months earlier, on March 28, 1844, in a concert at Drury Lane Theatre. Ignaz Moscheles, to whom Joachim had a letter of introduction from Mendelssohn, arranged for the boy's appearance at this concert. Moscheles played his own "Fantasy on Irish Folksongs" and Joachim played Ernst's "Othello Fantasy." After the concert Balfe's "Bohemian Girl" was given.
9On the bills posted about town announcing the concert and the opera was the following special notice:
11"In the concert before the 'Bohemian Girl' the celebrated Hungarian boy, Joseph Joachim, will perform."
13The accompanying picture shows Joachim as he was at that time. It is from a drawing by the wife of the celebrated theory teacher, Moritz Hauptmann.
15Joachim's next public appearance in London was on May 19, 1844. Under the management of Jules Benedict a concert with a "monster program" was arranged. There were twenty-three numbers and the following artists took part: Mendelssohn, Thalberg, Sivori, Joachim, Grisi, Shaw, Mario, Salvi, Lablache, Standigl, Dulken and Parish-Alvars. The announcement that the thirteen year old boy would appear on the same program with the greatest celebrities of Europe caused a great deal of comment, and thus much interest and curiosity were created. Joachim's success was enormous.
17The climax of surprises, however, was reached when the austere Philharmonic Society made known that at their fifth concert, which would be given under the direction of Felix Mendelssohn, the soloist would be the Hungarian boy Joseph Joachim. This was an unheard of thing. In fact, the statutes of this august body of musicians forbid the appearance of prodigies at their concerts. It was due to Mendelssohn's personal efforts that the boy was admitted. He convinced the committee that "Joachim was not an ordinary prodigy of hothouse growth, but a great artist, who merely happened to be very young." Hence, contrary to all precedent, the boy played with England's greatest musical institution, where hitherto none but the greatest celebrities had appeared.
19This Philharmonic appearance was one of the landmarks in Joachim's career, for on this occasion, too, he played for the first time in public the Beethoven concerto—the work with which his name was destined to be immortally coupled.
21His success was tremendous, and from that day on Joachim was the acknowledged favorite of the British public. Mendelssohn was delighted over the success of his protégé. He wrote an enthusiastic letter about the event the next day to his friend Witgenstein in Leipsic, which I have translated in full. Coming now, sixty years afterward, when Joachim's career is familiar to everyone interested in music, it will be found full of interest. It reads as follows:
23"I cannot help telling you, at least with a few words, of the unheard of, unparalleled success which our dear Joseph had at the Philharmonic concert last night with his performance of the Beethoven violin concerto. The rejoicing of the entire public, the love and admiration of all the musicians, the hearty sympathy of everyone who is interested in music and who builds hopes on such a talent—all this found utterance last evening. Thanks to you and your wife for being the cause of bringing such a boy to us; thanks for all the pleasure he has given me, and may Heaven give him good, strong health; then all the rest that we wish for him will not be lacking, or rather, it cannot be lacking, for he does not need to become a splendid artist and a good boy. He already is both, as much as a boy of his age ever was or ever could be.
25"The excitement that he created at the rehearsal was so great that he was overwhelmed with applause yesterday as even then the thunderous applause continued until he left the hall. The most celebrated artist could not wish for nor have a greater success.
27"The principal end to be attained with a first English appearance has been accomplished, as I see it, in the highest degree. Everybody here interested in music is his friend and he will not be forgotten. Now it is my wish, as you know, that he live quietly for the next two or three years, apart from the world, studying and growing, developing those qualities that he still lacks, without neglecting those that he already has. He must give attention to composition, but he must give even more attention to long walks and the development of his body, so that in three years' time he will be as strong and healthy a youth as he now is a boy. Without quiet and repose I consider this impossible. May the gifts that heaven gave him be matured!"
29Your devoted
31"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
33Thrice and four times fortunate was Joachim in having such a friend and protector as Mendelssohn. The eminent composer was fairly worshipped in England, and through his influence Joachim's appearances in London were of an exceptionally brilliant nature. This had much to do with the strong hold that the boy at once gained on the English public. Then, too, Joachim cannot be thankful enough for the fatherly interest that Mendelssohn took in him, and for his wisdom in preventing too frequent public appearances at the age when the excitement was sure to be injurious and to hinder the full development of his faculties.
35Joachim is one of those few artists on whom fortune smiled from the start. All through his long and active career we find a combination of favorable circumstances working for him. From the time that he was nine years old, when the great Ernst became interested in him, all was plain sailing. His relations to Mendelssohn, David, Hauptmann, Liszt, Schumann and Brahms were of great importance and of great influence upon his life and career.
37Before he became acquainted with Ernst he was not on the right road to greatness. His first teacher, Serwaczynski, gave attention to the development of Joachim's left hand alone, wholly neglecting his bowing (like so many modern teachers), and when the little "Pepi" came to Georg Helmesberger (then the leading violinist of Vienna) for instruction, Helmesberger considered him a "hopeless case"!
39At this "Pepi" (as he was dubbed) and his parents were disheartened. Just at this time the celebrated violinist, Henri Ernst, announced a concert in Vienna, and of course Joachim went to hear him. The impression that Ernst's playing made on the boy was tremendous. He was dazed, paralyzed and at the same time wildly enthusiastic. It was an imprint never to be effaced. Joachim spoke of it to me only a few days ago. We were talking about great violinists of the past. Joachim grew reminiscent and spoke of Ole Bull, Vieuxtemps, De Beriot, Wieniawski, Laub, Sivori and Ernst. He said: "By far the greatest violinist I ever heard was Ernst. I never will forget the impression his playing made on me when I first heard him—1840. From that time on till his death, in 1865, Ernst was my friend, and I heard him frequently and played with him. Such wondrous beauty of tone I have never heard in any other, and the bravour and certainty of his technic, when he was in good form, were astounding. And, above all, his temperament was electrifying to an incredible degree."
41The boy was taken to play for Ernst, who at once recognized his great talent and who advised him to study with his own teacher, Joseph Böhm, in order to get through him the traditions of the classic school of Rode and Viotti, whose direct artistic descendant Böhm was. Thus early did Joachim fall into good hands, and from that time on his path was full of sunshine and roses. Of special interest is the letter of introduction that Mendelssohn gave
43JOSEPH JOACHIM AT THE AGE OF TWELVE.
44(Made from a pencil sketch by Mrs. Moritz Hauptmann in 1843.)
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.