Joseph Linke (also spelled Joseph Lincke, Josef Linke; 8 June 1783 – 26 March 1837) was a
cellist and composer who had a distinguished career in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, as a soloist and as a member of the
Schuppanzigh Quartet The Schuppanzigh Quartet was a string quartet formed in Vienna in the 1790s by the violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh. It continued, with breaks and changes of members, for many years. Schuppanzigh was a close friend and admirer of Ludwig van Beethoven, ...
. He took part in the first performances of string quartets and other chamber works of
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
.
Early life and career
Linke was born in
Trachenberg in Silesia (now Żmigród in Poland). His father, a violinist at the chapel of
Prince Hatzfeld, taught him the violin. He was an orphan at the age of ten, and supported himself by copying music. In 1800 he became violinist in the Dominican convent at
Breslau; he studied cello with Lose, the first cellist of the
Breslau Opera House, where
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, ...
was the conductor. On Lose's departure, Linke succeeded him in the theatre orchestra.
[Cellists of the Viennese School and Other German Cellists of the 19th century]
www.celloheaven.com, accessed 14 April 2014[Paul Nettl. "Linke, Joseph". ''Beethoven Encyclopedia''. Philosophical Library, New York, 1956]
He moved to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
in 1808, and became the cellist in a string quartet which Count
Andrey Razumovsky
Count (later Prince) Andrey Kirillovich Razumovskyrussian: Андре́й Кири́ллович Разумо́вский, , german: Andreas von Rasumofsky (2 November 1752 – 23 September 1836) was a Russian Imperial diplomat who spent man ...
had commissioned the violinist
Ignaz Schuppanzigh
Ignaz Schuppanzigh (20 July Michael Lorenz"Four more months for Ignaz Schuppanzigh" 13 August 2012] 1776 – 2 March 1830) was an Austrian violinist, friend and teacher of Ludwig van Beethoven, Beethoven, and leader of Count Razumovsky's privat ...
to set up;
Schuppanzigh Quartet, Schuppanzigh's quartet gave concerts in the Count's palace.
[The early performers of the quartets of Beethoven]
Elias String Quartet: the Beethoven Project, accessed 10 April 2014 In December 1808, Schuppanzigh, Linke and Beethoven gave the first performances of Beethoven's two piano trio
A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of m ...
s Op. 70, and in 1814 they gave the first performance of Beethoven's Piano Trio Op. 97 (the "Archduke Trio
Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank withi ...
"). In 1815 Beethoven wrote for Linke the two Cello Sonatas Op. 102.[
Linke remained with Schuppanzigh's quartet until it was disbanded, after the Count's palace partly burnt down on 31 December 1814. Schuppanzigh left Vienna for several years. Linke was attached to the household of Anna Maria ]Erdődy
The House of Erdődy de Monyorókerék et Monoszló (also House of Erdödy) is the name of an old Hungarian- Croatian noble family with possessions in Hungary and Croatia. Elevated to the Hungarian nobility in 1459, the family was subsequently r ...
, a Hungarian noblewoman and close friend and patron of Beethoven. She employed Linke as a second music tutor (after Johann Xaver Brauchle) to her three children. He accompanied them to Paukovec, Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, where the family was to reside, after the whole household left Vienna in 1815.[ Barry Cooper, ''Beethoven'' (Master Musicians, 2008, Oxford University Press).][Robert Münster: ''Anna Maria Gräfin Erdödy'' in Johannes Fischer (Ed.): Münchener Beethoven-Studien. Katzbichler, München 1992, , pp. 217–224.][
]
Later years
Linke returned to Vienna in 1818, where he was a soloist in the orchestra of the Theater an der Wien
The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...
. He was in a quartet assembled in 1819 by the violinist Joseph Böhm
Joseph Böhm ( hu, Böhm József; 4 April 1795 – 28 March 1876) was a Hungarian violinist and a director of the Vienna Conservatory.
Life
He was born in Pest, to a Jewish family. He was taught by his father and by Pierre Rode. His brother F ...
, in which the other players were Karl Holz and Franz Weiss, both formerly with Schuppanzigh's quartet.[
Schuppanzigh returned to Vienna in 1823, and Linke joined his re-established quartet, with Karl Holz and Franz Weiss. In 1824 Beethoven, who had not written a string quartet since his Op. 95 in 1810, composed his String Quartet Op. 127, and in the following year Schuppanzigh's quartet gave the first performance of this work. They later performed his String Quartet Op. 130 and String Quartet Op. 132. The quartet also gave the first performance of ]Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
's A minor Quartet (D. 804)[From chamber to concert hall, by Tully Potter]
The Cambridge Companion to the String Quartet, edited by Robin Stowell, accessed 12 April 2014
After Schuppanzigh's death in 1830 he was in a quartet assembled in 1834 by the violinist Leopold Jansa
Leopold Jansa (23 March 1795, Wildenschwert ( cs, Ústí nad Orlicí), far north-east Bohemia, Austrian Empire – 25 January 1875, Vienna) was a Bohemian violinist, composer, and teacher.
He was born in Wildenschwert, Austria-Hungary (present ...
.[
Linke composed several works for the cello, including a cello concerto.][
He died in 1837; he was described in an obituary in the music magazine '']Neue Zeitschrift für Musik
'Die'' (; en, " heNew Journal of Music") is a music magazine, co-founded in Leipzig by Robert Schumann, his teacher and future father-in law Friedrich Wieck, and his close friend Ludwig Schuncke. Its first issue appeared on 3 April 1834.
Histo ...
'':
He was a great friend of Beethoven, who wrote much for him. His way of presenting Beethoven's compositions was unique, and I have never heard any other cellists with this interpretation, which according to circumstances could be flattering, aggressive, capricious, passionate etc., in short expressing himself in the moods required, and so rendering Beethoven's essential manner.Obituary
''Neue Zeitschrift für Musik'', Vol. 6, 21 April 1837, p130, accessed 16 April 2014
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linke, Joseph
1783 births
1837 deaths
People from Żmigród
Cellists from the Austrian Empire
Composers from the Austrian Empire
Emigrants from the Kingdom of Prussia to the Austrian Empire