Dr. Sanna Pederson, University of Oklahoma
Image: The Quartet at the 1907 Beethoven-Haus Bonn Festival [su_heading size=”23″ margin=”30″]The final year of the Quartet: Reconstructing the last concerts from newspaper and music journal reports[/su_heading] On January 10 the Quartet played an all Beethoven program: op. 135, op. 59 #3, op. 18 #5. The Quartet then traveled to Königsberg, where they played the … Read more
Contemporary reviews Reviews in the musical press for the Quartet’s concerts outside of Berlin are quite consistent in the 1880s, and bear out the points made by Moser’s biography. The Quartet’s concerts in Leipzig were in 1881, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1896, 1898, and 1899. The first visit to the Leipzig Gewandhaus on November 26, 1881 made … Read more
Andreas Moser’s biography of Joachim addresses this question. Since Joachim had quite a bit of say in what he wrote, it is interesting to read the list of special qualities: Joachim’s confidence in his interpretation. “If there was ever an artist who knew what he wanted, it was Joachim.” This came partly from his training and … Read more
This is the big question. Since there are no recordings, we must rely on the account of witnesses, which are subjective. First, though, there are some relevant facts that should be taken into account: The many years that they played regularly together. Three of the four played together for 28 years, from 1879-1907. The turnover was … Read more
Arthur M. Abell, the Berlin editor of the Musical Courier from 1893-1917, was a violinist and prominent figure in Berlin music circles. He relied on the journalistic technique of sharing insider knowledge: (supposedly) personal conversations and gossip from the best sources, as exemplified in his infamous book Talks with Great Composers. In a column dated … Read more
Tracking down all the concerts in 1907 in Berlin Music Journals Signale für die musikalische Welt Neue Zeitschrift für Musik/Musikalisches Wochenblatt Die Musik Neue Musik-Zeitung Der Klavier-Lehrer The Monthly Musical Record The Musical Times The Strad The Musical Courier Musical News The Musical Herald Other print media Berliner Tageblatt Berliner Börsen Zeitung Berliner Leben The … Read more
Not only were the cousins Georg and Robert Hausmann both professional cellists who played the same cello with some of the same people in the same places, Robert’s sister Marie was a singer who had a cousin Marie who was also a singer. Robert’s sister Marie was born in 1847. She studied singing with Julius … Read more