Joachim Joseph Joachim

Joseph Joachim (Hungarian: Joachim József, 28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant violinists of the 19th century.

Compositions

Joachim's own compositions are less well known. He gave opus numbers to 14 compositions and composed about an equal number of pieces without opus numbers. Among his compositions are various works for the violin (including three concerti) and overtures to Shakespeare's Hamlet and Henry IV. He also wrote cadenzas for a number of other composers' concerti (including the Beethoven and Brahms concerti). His most highly regarded composition is his Hungarian concerto (Violin Concerto No 2 in D minor, Op. 11).

List of compositions

Fuller-Maitland, p. 56, lists the 14 pieces with opus numbers, not necessarily with the same details as below. On p. 57 he lists 6 of the 14 pieces given here as WoO, plus the orchestration of the Schubert Grand Duo and the Beethoven and Brahms concerto cadenzas.

Original compositions

• Op. 1, Andantino and Allegro scherzoso, for violin and piano (1848): dedicated to Joseph Böhm
• Op. 2, Drei Stücke (3 Pieces) for violin or viola and piano, (circa 1848–1852): Romanze, Fantasiestück, Eine Frühlingsfantasie; dedicated to Moritz Hauptmann
• Op. 3, Violin Concerto in One Movement, in G minor (1851); dedicated to Franz Liszt
• Op. 4, Hamlet Overture (1853); dedicated to Kapelle of Weimar
• Op. 5, Three Pieces for Violin and Piano: Lindenrauschen, Abendglocken, Ballade; dedicated to Gisela von Arnim
• Op. 6, Demetrius Overture (1853, to a play by Herman Friedrich Grimm; overture dedicated to Franz Liszt)
• Op. 7, Henry IV Overture (1854)
• Op. 8, Overture to a Comedy by Gozzi (1854); dedicated to Fritz Steinbach.
• Op. 9, Hebräische Melodien, nach Eindrücken der Byron'schen Gesänge (Hebrew Melodies, after Impressions of Byron's Songs) for viola and piano (1854–1855)
• Op. 10, Variationen über ein eigenes Thema (Variations on an Original Theme) in E major for viola and piano (1854); dedicated to Hermann Grimm.
• Op. 11, Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor "in the Hungarian Manner" (ca. 1853, published in 1861); dedicated to Johannes Brahms. It is said that the solo violin part of the Hungarian Concerto is very difficult to play.
• Op. 12, Notturno for Violin and Small Orchestra in A major (1858)
• WoO, Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major (1875)
• Op. 13, Elegiac Overture "In Memoriam Heinrich von Kleist" (ca. 1877)
• Op. 14, Szene der Marfa from Friedrich Schiller's unfinished drama Demetrius (ca. 1869)
• WoO Haidenröslein Lied for high voice and piano; pub. Verlag des Ungar, 1846.
• WoO, Ich hab' im Traum geweinet for voice and piano, pub. Wigand, 1854.
• WoO, Scene from Schiller's Demetrius (1878)
• WoO, Rain, rain and sun, Merlin's Song (Tennyson), pub. C. Kegan & Co., 1880.
• WoO, Melodrama zu einer Schillergedenkfeier (unpublished, autograph in Hamburg Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek)
• WoO, Overture in C major (Konzertouvertüre zum Geburtstag des Kaisers) (1896)
• WoO, Two Marches for orchestra, in C and D
• WoO, Andantino in A minor, for violin and orchestra (also for violin and piano)
• WoO, Romance in B-flat major, for violin and piano
• WoO, Romance in C major, for violin and piano; pub. C. F. Kahnt Nachfolge, Leipzig, 1894.
• WoO, String Quartet Movement in C minor
• WoO, Variationen über ein irisches Elfenlied for piano (first publ. by J. Schuberth & Co. Hamburg, 1989. Edited by Michael Struck.)
• WoO, Variations for Violin and Orchestra in E minor (ca. 1879); dedicated to Pablo Sarasate

An orchestration

• In 1855 Joachim orchestrated the Schubert Grand Duo piano duet into a "Symphony in C."

Cadenzas

• Beethoven, Concerto in D major, Op. 61
• Brahms, Concerto in D major, Op. 77
• Kreutzer, Concerto No. 19 in D minor
• Mozart, Aria from Il re pastore, K. 208, Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216, Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218, and Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219
• Rode, Concerto No. 10 in B minor, and Concerto No. 11 in D major
• Spohr, Concerto in A minor, Op. 47 (Gesangsszene)
• Tartini, Sonata in G minor (Devil's Trill)
• Viotti, Concerto No. 22 in A minor

Recordings of Joachim's compositions

• Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 11 "In the Hungarian Style":
  • Rachel Barton Pine (Violin), Carlos Kalmar (Conductor), Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cedille Records: CDR 90000 068 (liner notes)
  • Elmar Oliveira (Violin), Leon Botstein (Conductor), London Philharmonic, IMP
  • Aaron Rosand (Violin), Louis de Froment (Conductor), Luxembourg Radio/Television Symphony Orchestra, Vox Catalog #: 5102
• Violin Concerto No. 3
  • Takako Nishizaki (Violin), Meir Minsky (Conductor), Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Naxos #: 8554733
• Hamlet Overture, Op. 4
  • Meir Minsky (Conductor), Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Naxos #: 8554733
• Elegische Ouvertüre, Op. 13
  • Meir Minsky (Conductor), Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Naxos #: 8554733
• Andantino and Allegro scherzoso, Op. 1: Andantino
  • Marat Bisengaliev (Violin), John Lenehan (Piano), Naxos #: 553026
• Romance in B-flat major
  • Marat Bisengaliev (Violin), John Lenehan (Piano), Naxos #: 553026
  • Aaron Rosand (Violin), Hugh Sung (Piano), Biddulph Recordings: LAW 003
• Hebrew melodies, Op. 9
  • Anna Barbara Dütschler (Viola), Marc Pantillon (Piano), Claves #: 9905
• Heinrich IV Overture, Op. 7 (2 pianos, arr. Johannes Brahms)
  • Duo Egri-Pertis, Hungaroton #: 32003
• Variations for Viola and Piano, Op. 10
  • Numerous recordings
• Variations for Violin and Orchestra in E minor
  • Vilmos Szabadi (Violin), László Kovács (Conductor), North Hungarian Symphony Orchestra, Hungaroton #: 32185
• String Quartet Movement (Quartettsatz) in C minor
  • Israel String Quartet, Classic Talent #B001HADEWI