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August Wilhelmj

August Emil Daniel Ferdinand Wilhelmj (German pronunciation: [vɪlˈhɛlmi] vil-HEL-mee; 21 September 1845 – 22 January 1908) was a German violinist and teacher.

Wilhelmj was born in Usingen and was considered a child prodigy; when Henriette Sontag heard him in 1852 at seven years old, she said, "You will be the German Paganini". In 1861, Franz Liszt heard him and sent him to Ferdinand David with a letter containing the words "Let me present you the future Paganini!". His teachers included: Ferdinand David, for the violin, Moritz Hauptmann, for music theory and composition, and Joachim Raff for composition.

A personal friend of Wagner, he led the violins at the première of Der Ring des Nibelungen in Bayreuth in 1876. He visited Australia in 1881, playing in the old Freemasons' Hall, but though appreciated by those who attended his concerts, their number was not sufficient to make the tour a financial success. It was not until introduced to London audiences by Jenny Lind in 1886 that Wilhelmj became a "household name".

He has become famous for his late nineteenth century arrangement of the second movement of J. S. Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 for violin and piano, known as Air on the G String and for his re-orchestration of the 1st movement of Niccolò Paganini's Violin Concerto No.1 in D major Op. 6 (1883/1884).

From 1894 on he was a Professor of violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Among his pupils were Jessie and Harold Grimson, American violinist Nahan Franko, Canadian musician Donald Heins, and the Australian conductor Aylmer Buesst. Wilhelmj owned a Stradivari 1725 violin from 1866 until his retirement, which later came to be known by his name. Another known violin was made by Giovanni Francesco Pressenda 1843 (Ex Wilhelmj) His 1785 Guadagnini was later owned (as "ex-Wilhelmj") by Jack Liebeck. He died in London.

Wilhelmj's sister-in-law was composer and singer Maria Wilhelmj.

Birth and Death Data: Born September 21, 1845 (Usingen), Died January 22, 1908 (London)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1904 - 1938

Roles Represented in DAHR: arranger, composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-42 of 42 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia W98448 12-in. 1/13/1928 Ave Maria Naoum Blinder Violin solo, with piano arranger  
Columbia W98454 12-in. 2/3/1928 Ave Maria Naoum Blinder ; Valentin Pavlovsky Violin solo, with piano arranger  
Columbia W98560 12-in. 6/28/1928 Ave Maria Emanuel Bay ; Efrem Zimbalist Violin solo, with piano arranger  
Columbia W98655 12-in. 4/27/1929 Air Musical Art Quartet String quartet arranger  
Columbia W98737 12-in. 3/5/1931 Air on the G string Efrem Zimbalist Violin solo, with piano arranger  
Brunswick 11904-11905 12-in. approximately 1920 Ave Maria Frederic Persson ; Max Rosen Violin solo, with piano arranger  
Brunswick XE26842-XE26843 12-in. 3/6/1928 Prize song André Benoist ; Albert Spalding Violin solo, with piano arranger  
Edison 2390 10-in. 7/22/1913 Humoreske André Benoist ; Albert Spalding Violin solo, with piano arranger  
Edison 2946 10-in. 4/9/1914 Ave Maria Carl Flesch Violin solo, with orchestra arranger  
Edison 3757 10-in. 5/6/1915 Humoreske André Benoist ; Albert Spalding Violin solo, with piano arranger  
Edison 3779 10-in. 5/12/1915 Prize song André Benoist ; Albert Spalding Violin solo, with piano arranger  
Edison 5064 10-in. 10/11/1916 Ave Maria André Benoist ; Albert Spalding Violin solo, with piano arranger  
Edison 5752 10-in. 8/30/1917 Nocturne André Benoist ; Albert Spalding Violin solo, with piano arranger  
Edison 5834 10-in. 10/4/1917 Schwedische melodie Carmine Fabrizio ; Robert Gayler Violin solo, with piano composer  
Edison 6289 10-in. July 1918 Air for G string Joel Belov ; Robert Gayler Violin solo, witn piano arranger  
Edison 7820 10-in. 3/2/1921 Humoreske Asta Doubravska ; Vasa Prihóda Violin solo, with piano arranger  
Edison 9446 10-in. 4/1/1924 Ave Maria Carl Flesch Violin solo, with piano arranger  
(Results 26-42 of 42 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Wilhelmj, August," accessed April 25, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106179.

Wilhelmj, August. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 25, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106179.

"Wilhelmj, August." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106179

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