August Wilhelmj

August Wilhelmj (Emil Daniel Ferdinand Viktor) was born in Usingen on 21 September 1845 and died in London on 22 January 1908. He was one of the most distinguished violinists of his time, and his career linked the German school of the nineteenth century with the great concert circuits of Europe and beyond the Atlantic.

He began his training in Wiesbaden with Konrad Fischer and, while still a child, performed at a charity concert in 1854. Prince Emil von Wittgenstein introduced him to Liszt, who sent him to Leipzig to study with David in 1861. There he completed his studies in harmony and composition with Hauptmann and Richter, and in 1864 he moved to Frankfurt to refine his art under Raff. From 1865 onwards he undertook a series of tours that took him through Switzerland, Holland, London, France, Italy, St Petersburg, Berlin and Vienna.

In 1876 he was concertmaster at the Bayreuth Festival and, the following year, he brought Wagner to London to conduct at the Royal Albert Hall; Wilhelmj led the violins and organised two additional concerts. Between 1878 and 1882 he toured North America, South America, Australia and Asia. On his return, he founded a violin school in Wiesbaden together with Rudolf Niemann, an initiative that did not thrive. In 1894 he was appointed principal professor of violin at the Guildhall School of Music in London.

His contemporaries praised the strength of his personality, the assurance of his technique, the richness of his tone and the soundness of his interpretations. He sought dignity and breadth, balancing intellect and imagination. Today he is remembered above all for his arrangement of the Air from Bach's Suite in D major, known as 'Air on the G String', an adaptation generally regarded as ill-judged. In his later years he took an interest in violin making and supported several Continental luthiers. He composed pieces for violin and, together with James Brown, wrote a Modern School for the Violin.