Karl
Halir (Carl Halir) was a Czech violinist, teacher, and composer born on
February 1, 1859. In his day, he was
famous for his interpretation of the Beethoven concerto. However, he is also remembered for having
played the first performance of the revised version – the version now commonly heard
today – of the Sibelius concerto. He was
also a very tall man with an imposing presence, as were August Wilhelmj and
Erick Friedman (and is Arnold Steinhardt.)
It has been said that in his hands, the violin looked like a toy. His father was his first violin teacher. At the Prague Conservatory he studied under
Antonin Bennewitz (teacher also of Josef Suk and Otakar Sevcik) and later (from
age 15) with Joseph Joachim in Berlin, at the Advanced School for Music. Upon graduation, Halir joined Benjamin
Bilse’s Band in Berlin, the precursor of the Berlin Philharmonic. He was either the concertmaster of this band or
played among the first violins. I do not
know for sure. He was concertmaster also
of the orchestra at Konigsberg in 1879.
He was 20 years old. Two years
later, he became concertmaster in Mannheim and remained for 3 years. One source states that after Konigsberg, he
spent two seasons in Italy as part of the private orchestra of a Russian
nobleman. In 1884, he was appointed
concertmaster of the orchestra in Weimar (Grand Ducal Court Orchestra) and was
there for 10 years (1884-1894.) That
same year, as part of the Bach Festival, he and Joachim played the Bach
concerto for two violins in Eisenach to great acclaim. He was 25 years old. Joachim was more than twice his age. Halir much later (in 1897) joined Joachim’s
string quartet as second violinist – the quartet had originally been formed in
1869. After Joachim’s death, Halir
formed his own quartet. After leaving
the Weimar orchestra in 1894, he became concertmaster of the Berlin Court Opera
orchestra and teacher at the school from which he had graduated (the Hochschule
fur Musik) – he taught there until the day he died. In Berlin, he also formed a piano trio which
included pianist George Schumann and cellist Hugo Dechert. All the while, he continued his solo concerts
and recitals. In 1888, Halir played the
Tchaikovsky concerto in Leipzig.
Tchaikovsky was at the performance and was so impressed with the concert
he later described it as a memorable day.
In 1896, Halir toured the U.S. He
arrived on November 4, 1896, for a 25-concert tour. For the tour, Joachim lent Halir his Red
Stradivarius of 1715 (now called the Joachim Strad – not to be confused with
the Red Mendelssohn), said to be worth $12,000 at the time. That violin was a gift to Joachim from the
City of London in 1889. It went to
Joachim’s nephew, Harold Joachim, upon Joseph Joachim’s death. Today, it is in Cremona, Italy and is worth
more than $12,000. Joachim’s generosity
was a further sign of the affection and respect he had for Halir. Halir’s itinerary included the cities of
Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Cambridge, Boston, Baltimore, Washington,
Philadelphia, and New York, among other places.
On November 13, 1896, in New York, he made his U.S. debut with the
Beethoven concerto. On December 4, he
gave the U.S. premiere of Spohr’s eighth concerto. On October 19, 1905, in Berlin, with Richard
Strauss conducting the Berlin Philharmonic, Halir gave the famous performance
of the final version of the Sibelius concerto. He also played one of Charles Loeffler's violin works at that same concert. In Berlin, most of his students were American violinists. Among other things, Halir wrote violin etudes
and scale studies and a cadenza for the Brahms concerto, works which are not
well-known today. Halir died (in Berlin)
on December
21, 1909, at age 50. Sunday, March 11, 2012
Karl Halir
Karl
Halir (Carl Halir) was a Czech violinist, teacher, and composer born on
February 1, 1859. In his day, he was
famous for his interpretation of the Beethoven concerto. However, he is also remembered for having
played the first performance of the revised version – the version now commonly heard
today – of the Sibelius concerto. He was
also a very tall man with an imposing presence, as were August Wilhelmj and
Erick Friedman (and is Arnold Steinhardt.)
It has been said that in his hands, the violin looked like a toy. His father was his first violin teacher. At the Prague Conservatory he studied under
Antonin Bennewitz (teacher also of Josef Suk and Otakar Sevcik) and later (from
age 15) with Joseph Joachim in Berlin, at the Advanced School for Music. Upon graduation, Halir joined Benjamin
Bilse’s Band in Berlin, the precursor of the Berlin Philharmonic. He was either the concertmaster of this band or
played among the first violins. I do not
know for sure. He was concertmaster also
of the orchestra at Konigsberg in 1879.
He was 20 years old. Two years
later, he became concertmaster in Mannheim and remained for 3 years. One source states that after Konigsberg, he
spent two seasons in Italy as part of the private orchestra of a Russian
nobleman. In 1884, he was appointed
concertmaster of the orchestra in Weimar (Grand Ducal Court Orchestra) and was
there for 10 years (1884-1894.) That
same year, as part of the Bach Festival, he and Joachim played the Bach
concerto for two violins in Eisenach to great acclaim. He was 25 years old. Joachim was more than twice his age. Halir much later (in 1897) joined Joachim’s
string quartet as second violinist – the quartet had originally been formed in
1869. After Joachim’s death, Halir
formed his own quartet. After leaving
the Weimar orchestra in 1894, he became concertmaster of the Berlin Court Opera
orchestra and teacher at the school from which he had graduated (the Hochschule
fur Musik) – he taught there until the day he died. In Berlin, he also formed a piano trio which
included pianist George Schumann and cellist Hugo Dechert. All the while, he continued his solo concerts
and recitals. In 1888, Halir played the
Tchaikovsky concerto in Leipzig.
Tchaikovsky was at the performance and was so impressed with the concert
he later described it as a memorable day.
In 1896, Halir toured the U.S. He
arrived on November 4, 1896, for a 25-concert tour. For the tour, Joachim lent Halir his Red
Stradivarius of 1715 (now called the Joachim Strad – not to be confused with
the Red Mendelssohn), said to be worth $12,000 at the time. That violin was a gift to Joachim from the
City of London in 1889. It went to
Joachim’s nephew, Harold Joachim, upon Joseph Joachim’s death. Today, it is in Cremona, Italy and is worth
more than $12,000. Joachim’s generosity
was a further sign of the affection and respect he had for Halir. Halir’s itinerary included the cities of
Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Cambridge, Boston, Baltimore, Washington,
Philadelphia, and New York, among other places.
On November 13, 1896, in New York, he made his U.S. debut with the
Beethoven concerto. On December 4, he
gave the U.S. premiere of Spohr’s eighth concerto. On October 19, 1905, in Berlin, with Richard
Strauss conducting the Berlin Philharmonic, Halir gave the famous performance
of the final version of the Sibelius concerto. He also played one of Charles Loeffler's violin works at that same concert. In Berlin, most of his students were American violinists. Among other things, Halir wrote violin etudes
and scale studies and a cadenza for the Brahms concerto, works which are not
well-known today. Halir died (in Berlin)
on December
21, 1909, at age 50. Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Alessandro Rolla
Alessandro
Rolla was an Italian violinist, violist, composer, conductor, and teacher, born
on April 22, 1757. Although he was a
very successful virtuoso of his time, he is most famous for being one of
Paganini’s teachers. Unfortunately, he
lived during a time when many great musical luminaries roamed the earth –
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Rossini, Chopin, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Liszt,
and Berlioz, to name the better-known among them. For example, after Mozart died in 1791, Rolla
lived an additional 50 years and was witness to Mozart’s eventual universal
success. His life also encompassed
Beethoven’s and Schubert’s entire lifetimes.
As a violinist, he was eclipsed by the likes of Paganini, Giovanni Viotti,
Louis Spohr, Karol Lipinski, Rodolphe Kreutzer, Heinrich Ernst, and Pierre Rode. Some of his compositions (about 600 in all
according to one source) attest to the fact that many techniques which Paganini
routinely used later on – including left-hand pizzicato, extremely high hand
positions on the fingerboard, octaves, and double stopping - were first put
forward by Rolla. After his early
studies, he moved to Milan where he studied from 1770 to 1778. At his first public performance, he played a
viola concerto of his own composition, said to be the first viola concerto ever
heard. That was in 1772 - he was 15
years old. However, he did not write the
first viola concerto – the first viola concerto was, in all likelihood, written
by George Telemann. In 1782, he was made
leader of the Ducal Orchestra in Parma, Italy, playing violin and viola. He was 25 years old. He first met Paganini in 1795. Paganini was then 13 years old. How much time Paganini actually spent
studying with Rolla is anyone’s guess.
It could have been one lesson or several or many. During those years in Parma, Rolla traveled
widely, published many of his works in Paris and Vienna, and conducted far and
wide. He was at Parma until 1802. He then moved to Milan, where he was
concertmaster and conductor of the opera orchestra at La Scala. It has been said that none other than Louis
Spohr praised this orchestra highly. In
1808, the year of its inauguration, Rolla was made violin and viola professor
of the Milan Conservatory, having been invited by Bonifazio Asioli, its first
Director. In 1811, Rolla was also
director of the Cultural Society in Milan.
He was associated with La Scala until 1833 – thirty one years. Upon leaving, Rolla was 76 years old. At La Scala, he had conducted many of the
operas of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, among others. He had also conducted Beethoven’s early
symphonies as part of his activities with the Cultural Society. He was among the first contributors to the
music catalog of the famous Italian publisher, Ricordi. These works included violin etudes in all
keys. His fame spread far and wide via
publication of his works in Leipzig, Paris, Vienna, London, and Milan. For the viola, he wrote no fewer than a dozen
concertos, as well as duos for viola in combination with an assortment of other
instruments. He also wrote many violin
concertos. One of the more recent champions of Rolla's music was Emanuel Vardi. Some, but certainly not many,
of Rolla's works have been recorded and some of his music is still in print. You can listen to tiny bits of some very
charming works by Rolla here. One of
several YouTube postings can be found here and an extensive list of his works
is available at this website. Rolla died
on September 15, 1841, at age 84. Though
very highly regarded and almost surely well-compensated during his lifetime, he
became neglected in more modern times. Before someone rescued their music from oblivion, the same fate befell Bach, Vivaldi, and Zelenka. Perhaps things will change for Rolla, though that is unlikely.