Martin Pierre Joseph Marsick (9 March 1847, in Jupille-sur-Meuse – 21 October 1924, in Paris), was a Belgian violin player, composer and teacher. His violin was made by Antonio Stradivari in 1705 and has since become known as the Ex Marsick Stradivarius. It was the instrument of David Oistrakh from 1966 to 1974. Marsick's nephew, Armand Marsick, the son of his brother Louis François, was a major violinist of the 20th century.

Biography

In 1854, seven-year-old Marsick was admitted to the Royal Conservatory of Music in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, to study violin with Désiré Heynberg (1831–1898). Graduating with the gold medal in 1864, he continued his studies in Brussels with

Hubert Léonard Hubert Léonard (7 April 1819 – 6 May 1890) was a famous Belgian violinist, born in Liège. His earliest preparatory training was given by a prominent teacher of the time, , after which he entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1836. There he stu ...

and became the pupil of

Joseph Massart Joseph Lambert Massart (19 July 1811 – 13 February 1892) was a Belgian violinist who has been credited with the origination of the systematic vibrato. He compiled ''The Art of Working at Kreutzer's Etudes,'' a supplement that contains 412 f ...

at the Paris Conservatory in 1868. In 1871, Marsick joined the newly established

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in Paris and also founded a

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

. Between 1875 and 1895, he performed in concerts in collaboration with the leading conductors in Paris - Charles Lamoureux,

Jules Pasdeloup Jules Étienne Pasdeloup (15 September 1819 – 13 August 1887) was a French conductor. Life Pasdeloup was born in Paris. His father was an assistant conductor at the Opéra Comique; he was educated in music at the Conservatoire de Paris, leavi ...

, and

Édouard Colonne Édouard Juda Colonne (23 July 1838 – 28 March 1910) was a French conductor and violinist, who was a champion of the music of Berlioz and other eminent 19th-century composers. Life and career Colonne was born in Bordeaux, the son and gran ...

, while also touring the rest of Europe and the United States. He played additionally with Joseph Joachim and in a trio with the

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

Anatoliy Brandukov and the pianist

Vladimir von Pachmann Vladimir de Pachmann or Pachman (27 July 18486 January 1933) was a pianist of Russian-German ethnicity, especially noted for performing the works of Chopin and for his eccentric performing style. Biography Pachmann was born in Odessa, Ukraine as ...

. From 1892 until 1900, he was a professor at the Paris Conservatory, where his students included Carl Flesch, Jacques Thibaud, Cécile Chaminade and George Enescu. In 1900, he deserted his wife Berthe Marsick née Mollot (1848–1923; married 1872; divorced 1910) and his pupils and fled abroad with a married woman. Although the woman later rejoined her husband and Marsick returned to Paris in 1903, his professional career never recovered from the scandal and he died in poverty.

Selected works

Marsick published a series of finger exercises entitled ''Eureka'' in 1906 and his ''La Grammaire du violon'' appeared in 1924. Besides these, he composed the septet ''Souvenir de Naples'' for

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flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, and

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

; a piano quartet; and a

lyric drama This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

, ''Le Puits''. ;Stage * ''Le Puits'', Lyric Drama (c.1900); libretto by

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;Chamber music * ''Rêverie'' in B major for violin and piano, Op. 4 (1879) * ''2 Morceaux'' for violin and piano, Op. 6 (1879) :# Adagio :# Scherzando * ''Pater noster'', Prière for violin and piano with organ ad libitum, Op. 7 (1882) * ''3 Pièces'' for violin or cello and piano, Op. 8 (1882) :: 3. Capriccioso in A minor * ''Airs de Ballet de

Françoise de Rimini ''Françoise de Rimini'' ( Francesca da Rimini) is an opera in four acts with a prologue and an epilogue. The last opera composed by Ambroise Thomas, it sets a French libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier which is based on an episode from D ...

de Ambroise Thomas'', 2 Transcriptions for violin and piano (1883) :# Adagio et Capriccio :# Pastorale, Scherzo, Habanera * ''Rêverie No. 2'' for violin and piano or string quartet, Op. 15 (1885) * ''Songe'' for violin and piano, Op. 16 (1891) * ''Tarentelle'' for violin and piano, Op. 19 (1897) * ''Nocturne'' for violin and piano, Op. 20 (1897) * ''Poème d'été'' for violin and piano, Op. 24 (1900) :# Captivante :# Exaltation :# Attente :# Valse triomphe * ''Fleurs des cimes'' for violin and piano, Op. 25 * ''Valencia'' (au gré des flots) for violin and piano, Op. 26 * ''Les Hespérides'' for violin and piano, Op. 27 * ''Petites fleurs musicales de l'âme'' for violin and piano (1901) * ''Petite romance expressive'' for violin and piano, Op. 32 (1901) * ''Souvenir de Naples'' for 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, flute and clarinet, Op. 33 * Piano Quartet for violin, viola, cello and piano, Op. 43 * ''Au pays du soleil'', Poème for violin and piano ;Pedigogical * ''Eureka!, Mécanisme nouveau pour "se mettre en doigts" en quelques minutes'' (Eureka!, New Technical Exercises), Op. 34 (1905) * ''La Grammaire du violon'' (1924)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marsick, Martin 1847 births 1924 deaths Belgian classical composers Belgian male classical composers Belgian classical violinists Male classical violinists Violin pedagogues Conservatoire de Paris alumni Conservatoire de Paris faculty Composers for violin Romantic composers Royal Conservatory of Liège alumni Musicians from Liège 20th-century Belgian male musicians 19th-century Belgian male musicians