Joseph Joachim - His Music and His Life

Joseph Joachim was born June 28, 1831 in Kittsee nearby Pressburg (Slovak capital Bratislava) and attracted publicity as child prodigy at the age of 7.

The friendship with Felix Mendelsohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847) supported Joachim's inspiration. In 1844, Joachim toured London. In 1849, he became Concert Master in Weimar, Germany, where he also met the genius Franz Liszt.

In 1866, Joachim became Director of the new "Hochschule fuer Musik" (University of Music) in Berlin. Among the more than  400 students have been Henri Petri, Jenoe Hubay and Karl Klinger - all blessed and popular composers and music creators.

The "Joachim String Quartet" was among the most popular quartets during that time. Joachim's violin play has been described as "blooming sound with godly stylistic purity".

Joachim composed three violin concertos, the "Hungarian Tunes" and overtures for classical poetries such as "Hamlet" or "Demetrius". His cadenzas of violin compositions by Mozart, Viotti or Beethoven are still performed nowadays.

Joseph Joachim passed away in Berlin on August 15, 1907.

Niccolo Isouard - His Music and His Life

Niccolo Isouard was born December 6, 1775 on the Island of Malta. Billet de Loterie

Who do I like to feature this almost unknown composer? It's very easy to explain: Niccolo Isouard has been one of the history writers of the so-called "Opera Comique". His challenger Francois Adrien Boildieu inspired Isouard to compose more than 50 operas. Nevertheless, critics described them as "fear winged his steps". Well, I am in another opinion.

1802, "Michel Ange" came out; 1810 premiered "Cendrillon", "Aschenbroedel" ("Cinderella") and "Le Billet de Loterie" ("The Lottery Ticket").

Niccolo Isouard passed away in France on March 23, 1818.