Joachim Newsletter
Edition; 14                                                                                                Date; July 2007                                                    
Dear Family

Items in this Newsletter ;

Congratulations/Birth Notice

Article “The Famous Joseph Joachim” by Rabbi Raymond Apple

Birth :
Yes, we have a new Family Member; Yakov Yochanan ben Daniel Benyamin

                                            BIRTH                                       
                                        Degen (James)
                                        Danny & Lisa
                          are thrilled to announce the birth of their son
                                              James
                                       on 27th June, 2007
                                           Grandson to
                                       Liz and Ron James
                                      Anne and Jeff Degen
                               Great-grandson to Beryl James
                            Aunties, uncles and cousins are very excited!


THE FAMOUS JOSEPH JOACHIM
By Rabbi Raymond Apple

The famous violinist Joseph Joachim (1831-1907) might have been related to the Australian Joachim family, but so far no-one has been able to confirm it either way.

Born to Jewish parents near Bratislava, he was recognised as a violin prodigy long before he was 13. At first a supporter of the Wagner-Liszt school of music, he fitted in more naturally to the more classical-romantic school of Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms.

His talents brought him admirers everywhere, especially in Berlin, where, apart from various official positions including the training of music students, he led the Joachim Quartet for over 30 years from 1869 and appeared all over Europe. His visits to England began with a highly praised Beethoven performance in 1844 and by the early 20th century no musical event was more acclaimed than the annual recitals by the Joachim Quartet.

Living in a time of great technological development, he was probably the first violinist to have made gramophone recordings, which cover Bach, Brahms and even his own works.

As a performer he was renowned for both “great technical skill and deep interpretative insight” (Percy A. Scholes, Oxford Companion to Music). He was also a composer whose works deserve to be better known.

The centenary of his birth was commemorated in London in 1931 by a concert at the Queen’s Hall at which two great-nieces played his compositions and a granddaughter, Gabriele Joachim, sang.

He was not a particularly practising Jew though in 1865 he issued a strong protest when the King of Hanover penalised an orchestral player because of the latter’s Jewish birth – an expression of the “new” antisemitism that brought such tragedy to European Jewry.

Is there any significance in the fact that in Melbourne, Australia, Abraham and Reyna Joachim called their son Joseph?


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Ø Lastly, please Family, write an article for the newsletter.

Katrina