Amalie Marie Joachim (née Schneeweiss; 10 May 1839 – 3 February 1899) was an Austrian-German

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...

, working in opera and concert and as voice teacher. She was the wife of the violinist

Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

, and a friend of

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

and Johannes Brahms, with whom she made international tours.

Career

Born Amalie Marie Schneeweiss in Marburg an der Drau,

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

, she was the daughter of Franz Max Schneeweiss and his wife Eleonore, née Lindes. The family moved to Graz in the early 1850s. She appeared on stage from age 14, under the stage name Amalie Weiss. She later worked in Vienna at the Kärntnertortheater. In April 1862, she was engaged by the Opernhaus Hannover, where she had appeared as a guest several times.,
Musik in Hannover
', Hannover/Leipzig, 1903, pp. 201ff) There, she met the concert master

, whom she married on 10 June 1863 in the Schlosskirche. The couple had six children. With her marriage, she retired from the stage, but she still performed as a concert singer, often together with her husband and

, a friend. They toured extensively, up to London. She participated in choral performances of the

Sing-Akademie zu Berlin The Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, also known as the Berliner Singakademie, is a musical (originally choral) society founded in Berlin in 1791 by Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, harpsichordist to the court of Prussia, on the model of the 18th-century ...

up to 1870, and became one of their honorary members. Johannes Brahms dedicated his

Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano, Op. 91, were composed by Johannes Brahms for his friends Joseph Joachim and his wife Amalie. The full title is ''Zwei Gesänge für eine Altstimme mit Bratsche und Klavier'' (Two songs for an alto voic ...

( Op. 91) to Amalie and her husband, which they could perform together. He wrote one song for their wedding and the baptism of their first son, who was named Johannes after Brahms, and the other decades later with the intention to help the couple's troubled marriage. Amalie was also a voice teacher and, on the recommendation of Johannes Brahms,

Marie Fillunger Marie Fillunger (27 January 1850 – 23 December 1930) was an Austrian singer, and the longtime partner of Eugenie Schumann, who was a daughter of Robert and Clara Schumann. Life Fillunger was born in Vienna. She studied at the Vienna Conser ...

studied under her at the Hochschule in Berlin in 1874. The marriage was dissolved after 21 years, after the jealous Joachim had accused her of adultery. Brahms defended her position. She performed more often after the divorce, to make money. Her focus was on '' Lied'' and

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

. She was often accompanied by the pianist . In 1885 and 1886 she toured with Laura Rappoldi from Dresden. On 1 February 1888, she premiered in Berlin at a ''Liederabend'' (recital) in Berlin the second song of ''Fünf Lieder'', Op. 105 by Johannes Brahms. She founded a school of singing (''Gesangsschule'') in Berlin. She died in 1899 in Berlin after surgery and was buried on the

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Cemetery The Protestant Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Cemetery (german: Der evangelische Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Friedhof) is a burial ground in the Westend district of Berlin with a size of 3.7 hectares. The cemetery is under monument and cultural heritage ...

. Her grave had the status '' Ehrengrab'' (Honorary grave) until 2015.

Literature

Joachim, Ehepaar
Österreichisches musiklexicon online
Joachim, Amalie; geb. Schneeweiß, Ps. Weiß (1839–1898), Sängerin
Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 *

Friedrich Blume Friedrich Blume (5 January 1893, in Schlüchtern, Hesse-Nassau – 22 November 1975, in Schlüchtern) was professor of musicology at the University of Kiel from 1938 to 1958. He was a student in Munich, Berlin and Leipzig, and taught in the las ...

: ''

Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG)'' is one of the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth of research areas, and reference t ...

. Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik, unter Mitarbeit zahlreicher Musikforscher des In- und Auslandes'', vol. 7 *

Karl-Josef Kutsch Karl-Josef Kutsch, also known as K. J. Kutsch, (born 11 May 1924) is a German physician and co-author with Leo Riemens of the ''Großes Sängerlexikon'', the standard reference for opera singers. Life and work Born in Gangelt, Kutsch studied ...

Leo Riemens Leonardus Antony Marinus Riemens (3 December 1910 – 3 April 1985) was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist. He wrote a book about Maria Callas, and together with Karl-Josef Kutsch began a reference book about opera singers in 1962, which ...

, unter Mitwirkung von Hansjörg Rost: ''

Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The first ...

'', vol. 2, ''M–Z'', Bern: Francke, 1997, column 3169 * (ed.): ''Sophie & Co. Bedeutende Frauen Hannovers. Biographische Portraits'', Hannover: Fackelträger-Verlag, 1991, , pp. 239ff * Beatrix Borchard: ''Stimme und Geige. Amalie und Joseph Joachim. Biographie und Interpretationsgeschichte'', in ''Wiener Veröffentlichungen zur Musikgeschichte'', vol. 5, 2nd ed., Wien: Böhlau Wien, *

Hugo Thielen Hugo Thielen (born 1946) is a German freelance author and editor, who is focused on the history of Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, in a lexicon of the city, another one especially of its art and culture, and a third of biographies. He co-au ...

:
Weiss (eigtl. Schneeweiß), Amalie
', in: ''Hannoversches Biographisches Lexikon'', pp. 380ff * Hugo Thielen: ''Weiss, Amalie'', in: ''Stadtlexikon Hannover'', p. 663

References

External links

Joachim (Weiß, Schneeweiß), Amalie
Bayerisches Musiker Lexikon Online
Amalie Joachim
bei MUGI – "Musik und Gender im Internet"
Biographische Informationen zum Ehepaar Joachim
* Barbara Hahn
Donnerschlag. Aus / Er geigt. Sie singt. Geschichte einer Ehe
'' Die Zeit'', 8 December 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Joachim, Amalie German contraltos 1839 births 1899 deaths Musicians from Maribor Austrian emigrants to Germany 19th-century women musicians