Joachim, Joseph (1831 - 1907)

Austro-Hungarian violinist, composer and conductor, founder and director of the Royal Academy of Music in Berlin, founder and leader of the Joachim Quartet. He took a keen interest in Dvorak’s work and, together with his quartet and two other soloists, he performed the world premiere of Dvorak’s String Sextet in A major; the quartet also frequently presented other chamber pieces by him on the concert platform. Dvorak dedicated his Violin Concerto in A minor to him, which he revised in accordance with Joachim’s recommendations. He dedicated his Songs on the Words of the Dvur Kralove Manuscript to the violinist’s wife, mezzo-soprano Amalie Joachim. On 29 July 1879 Joachim held a gala evening in Berlin in Dvorak’s honour.