Arcangelo Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli was an Italian violinist and composer born on February 17, 1653 (32 years before Bach was born.) Not too much is known about his early life. His violin teacher was Giovanni Battista Bassani and Matteo Simonelli, a singer of the pope’s chapel, taught him composition. At the age of nineteen he experienced major successes in Paris. From Paris, Corelli went to Germany. In 1681 he was in the service of the electoral prince of Bavaria. In 1685 he was in Rome, where he played for Queen Christine of Sweden and where he was also a favorite of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni. From 1689 to 1690 he was working for the Duke of Modena. In 1708 he returned to Rome, living in the palace of Cardinal Ottoboni. His visit to Naples, at the invitation of the king, took place in the same year. Much of Corelli’s music has been recorded by numerous ensembles and is easy to come by. Corelli died in 1713.

Jacques Pierre Rode

Jacques Pierre Joseph Rode was a French violinist and composer born on this day (February 16), 1774 (Mozart was 18 years old.) At age 13, Pierre Rode traveled to Paris to study with Viotti, whose favorite pupil he soon became. Some people say that Viotti charged Rode nothing for his lessons. Together with Kreutzer and Baillot, he wrote the official Violin Method of the Paris Conservatory which came out in 1802. Rode eventually became violin soloist to Napoleon I of France. He also toured Europe extensively as a violin virtuoso. He was in St Petersburg from 1804 until 1809. From 1814 to 1819 he lived in Berlin and there composed the well-known 24 Caprices which every young violinist uses to this day. Axel Strauss has recorded the Rode Caprices (as has Oscar Shumsky) and the recording will soon be issued by the Naxos label. Among his compositions are 13 violin concertos which are now seldom played. Rode died in 1830 (Mozart was long gone and Beethoven had been dead 3 years).

Yfrah Neaman

Yfrah Neaman was a British violinist and an eminent teacher born on this day (February 13) in 1923. Although he was born in Lebanon, he studied at the Paris Conservatory with Jacques Thibaud, from which he graduated at age 14, and then settled in London where he continued his studies with Carl Flesch and then Flesch’s pupil, Max Rostal. His unplanned debut was in 1944 in London with the London Symphony. He taught at the Guildhall School of Music from 1958 until 2003 and was artistic director of the Carl Flesch Competition. His influence and reputation as a teacher was spread far and wide. There are numerous recordings of his playing some modern violin concertos by seldom-heard composers. He died in January, 2003.

Johann Molter

Johann Melchior Molter was a German violinist and prolific composer, perhaps a genius, born on this date (February 10) 1696 (JS Bach was 11 years old). In 1717 he went from Eisenach to work in Karlsruhe as a violinist. From 1719 to 1721 he studied composition in Italy. From 1722 to 1733 he was court music director at Karlsruhe. In 1734 he became music master at the court of Duke Wilhelm Heinrich of Saxe-Eisenach. In 1742 he returned to Karlsruhe and began teaching at the Gymnasium there. From 1747 until his death Molter was employed by Margrave Carl Friedrich, the son of his first employer. Molter's works include an oratorio, several cantatas, 3 operas, over 160 symphonies, overtures, and other works for orchestra, about 100 concertos (especially many trumpet concertos and clarinet concertos), and many chamber music works. I especially like his trumpet concertos. His music is inventive and of a very sunny disposition. Many of the concertos are available on current CDs - YouTube has some amateur videos of low-quality performances. For Molter, I recommend the playlists on Pandora Radio. Molter died in 1765 (Mozart was 9 years old).

Ole Bull

Ole Bull (Ole Bornemann Bull) was a Norwegian violinist and composer born on this day (February 5) in 1810 (Beethoven was 40 years old). At the early age of 9, he was a soloist with the Bergen Music Society. He studied briefly with Louis Spohr, although he disliked him. Ole Bull was not one to do things formally or by the book but he became a very successful performer and knew many of the outstanding musicians of his day, some of whom admired him greatly. Perhaps he was a lot like Franz Clement, the violinist who commissioned Beethoven's violin concerto. In 1829, Bull played in Copenhagen and Kassel and in 1831 he travelled to Paris. He was 21 years old. He is said to have killed a man in a duel. He concertized a great deal in England, Ireland, and America, making quite a bit of money. The great fortune he made was badly invested several times but he always recovered by taking up the violin and touring again. His second wife was young enough to be his granddaughter, but the marriage was a happy one. Eugene Ysaye was like Ole Bull in this respect - in his old age, he married a woman 44 years younger than he was. Bull's first concert in America took place on November 25, 1843. He was 33 years old. His first violin seems to have been a 1734 Guarnerius.  He later acquired a 1690 Stradivarius and a 1687 Stradivarius which now bears his name.  That violin was later played by Paul Kochanski then still later by Iso Briselli.  A 1647 Amati and a 1610 Gasparo Bertolotti may have been Ole Bull's last instruments.  Bertolotti (aka Da Salo) was one of the earliest known violin makers.  It appears Ole Bull went backwards in the age of his violins - the older he got, the older his violins, too.  Bull died on August 18, 1880, at age 71. One of his violin concertos can be heard here. It is surely one of the most bombastic works for violin ever written and gives an indication to his performing style. 

Jascha Heifetz

Jascha Heifetz was a Russian (Lithuanian) violinist, composer, and teacher born on this day (February 2) in 1901 - some sources say January 20, 1901. He has often been called the greatest violinist of the Twentieth Century. After Paganini, he is probably the most famous violinist who ever lived. Ironically, he did not record any of the Paganini concertos. He first took lessons – at age three - from his father (Ruben, concertmaster of the Vilna Symphony Orchestra), and then began lessons at age five with Ilya Malkin. He first played in public at age 7. At age 9 he entered the St Petersburg Conservatory to study under Leopold Auer. While still a very young student, he toured much of Europe, playing with the Berlin Philharmonic as a 13-year-old. His first performance with the Berlin Philharmonic occurred on October 12, 1912.  He played the Tchaikovsky concerto on that occasion.  Arthur Nikisch was on the podium.  On January 4, 1933, he played the 5th concerto by Mozart, the Beethoven concerto, and the Brahms concerto on the same program.  He was 31 years old.  He did not set foot in Germany ever again.  A few violinists have played two concertos on the same program and even fewer have played three concertos on the same program.  Until recently, I did not know that Heifetz had done the same thing.  Heifetz came to the U.S in 1917 and debuted in Carnegie Hall on October 17, 1917, still only sixteen years old. His concertizing and recording career took off after that.  Eddy Brown stated afterward that Heifetz made everyone else, including Kreisler, sound like students.  Heifetz composed a very small quantity of original music but made many arrangements and transcriptions which are still in wide use. He is probably the most recorded violinist of all time, although Louis Kaufman and Ruggiero Ricci biographers claim the same thing about Ricci and Kaufman. Heifetz taught for many years at UCLA and USC (both in Southern California, U.S.A.). Two of his famous pupils were Erick Friedman and Eugene Fodor.  He played the famous Dolphin Stradivarius (1714), a 1742 Guarneri, a 1731 Stradivarius, a 1734 Stradivarius, and a 1736 Carlo Tononi violin. Heifetz died on December 10, 1987, at age 86.

Francesco Veracini

Francesco Maria Veracini was an Italian violinist and composer born on this day (February 1) in 1690 (Bach was five years old.) He first took lessons from his uncle and subsequently from persons I do not know anything about. The great Tartini considered him to be a better violinist than himself. Veracini traveled a great deal and lived in Venice, Dresden, Prague, and London. Many considered him to be the greatest violinist of his time. Of course, he never had to learn the Brahms or the Sibelius concertos. Although he composed four or five operas and many large works, he is best remembered for his violin sonatas. Some of his recorded music is available on the Naxos and the Arkiv labels. He died in 1768.