Lars Valdemar Tofte (21 October 1832 – 28 May 1907) was a Danish violinist who taught for a half century and trained over 300 of Denmark's violinists.

Biography

Tofte was born on 21 October 1832 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark, to distiller Hans Larsen Tofte (1798–1857) and Mathilde Pedersen (1812–1867). The father, who loved music and was a good violinist, wanted his son to become a musician, particularly a violin virtuoso. To that end, he took Tofte at a young age to concerts to hear great artists like Miska Hauser,

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 ...

, Carl Moeser and François Prume. He also found skilled teachers: first Carl T. Petersen, violinist in

Hans Christian Lumbye Hans Christian Lumbye (; 2 May 1810 – 20 March 1874) was a Danish composer of waltzes, polkas, mazurkas and galops, among other things. Beginnings As a child, he studied music in Randers and Odense, and by age 14 he was playing the trumpet in a ...

's orchestra, known for his beautiful bowing, and then Julius Semler of the

Royal Danish Orchestra The Royal Danish Orchestra (''Det Kongelige Kapel'') is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen. The Danish name for the orchestra indicates its original function as an ensemble geared to supplying the music for court events. The Royal Danish Orch ...

. In the fall of 1850, when the Music Society formed its own orchestra under the direction of

Niels W. Gade Niels Wilhelm Gade (22 February 1817 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. Together with Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, he was the leading Danish musician of his day. Biography Gade was born ...

, Tofte was one of its early violinists. Gade's recommendation was for Tofte to study with the "violin king"

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 ...

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

. Tofte followed the advice and went to study with Joachim from 1853 to 1856; occasionally he studied with

Louis Spohr Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig, was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten symphonies, ...

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

Career

After his return, he made his debut in May 1856 with great acclaim in the Music Society Orchestra. He worked in this association as a soloist and performed chamber music concerts with a quartet consisting of ,

Vilhelm Christian Holm Vilhelm Christian Holm (September 28, 1820 - October 15, 1886) was a Danish composer. Notable works *La Ventana (1856) *Fjernt fra Danmark (1860) *Ponte molle (1866) *Livjægerne paa Amager (1871) *Et Æventyr i Billeder (1871) *Mandarinens ...

and

Franz Neruda Franz Xaver Neruda (or František) (3 December 1843 – 19 March 1915) was a Czech-Danish cellist and composer of Moravian origin. Life Franz Xaver Neruda was born in Brno into a musical family. He was the fifth child of the organist of Brno ...

. In 1863 he was hired for the Royal Danish Orchestra, as a member and a soloist. He alternated as a soloist with Christian Schiørring, until his resignation in 1893. When the

Royal Danish Academy of Music The Royal Danish Academy of Music, or Royal Danish Conservatory of Music ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium), in Copenhagen is the oldest professional institution of musical education in Denmark as well as the largest, with approxima ...

was established in 1867, Tofte was appointed as the first violin teacher. For his long and important career he was in 1893 honored with the title of professor. He taught until 1904, training an entire school of violinists in Denmark. It is estimated that he taught over 300 violinists and almost two generations of artists, including Anton Svendsen, Frederick Hilmer,

Frida Schytte Frida von Kaulbach (1871–1948) was a Danish violinist who performed as Frida Scotta. She was born Frida Schytte in Copenhagen on 31 March 1871 and married the painter Friedrich August von Kaulbach Friedrich August von Kaulbach (2 June 18 ...

Fini Henriques Valdemar Fini Henriques (baptized ''Finni'') (20 October 1867 at Frederiksberg - 27 October 1940 in Copenhagen) was a Danish composer and violinist. His parents were hospital inspector and justice counsel Vilhelm Moritz Henriques (1828-1889), ...

Frederik Rung Frederik Rung (June 14, 1854 - January 22, 1914) was a Danish conductor and composer. Biography He was the son of composer Henrik Rung (1807-1871). His sister Sophie Keller (1850–1929) was an opera singer at the Royal Danish Theatre. His so ...

Victor Bendix Victor Emanuel Bendix (17 May 1851 in Copenhagen – January 1926) was a Danish composer, conductor and pianist, who came from a Jewish family. His teachers included Niels Gade. He was also a friend of Carl Nielsen, who dedicated his Symph ...

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...

, and

Georg Høeberg Georg Valdemar Høeberg ( 27 December 1872 in Copenhagen – 3 August 1950 in Vedbaek ) was a Danish violinist, conductor and composer. He was the brother of the opera singer Albert Høeberg and cellist Ernst Høeberg and grandson of Hans Christian ...

Personal life

On 3 March 1866 in Trinity Church, Tofte married Ane Kirstine Pauline Willumsen (May 23, 1838 in Copenhagen – August 17, 1914 in Frederiksberg, daughter of haulage Jørgen Willumsen (1801–1854) and Marie Elisabeth Poulsen (1802–1879). He died 28 May 1907 in Copenhagen and was buried at the

Vestre Cemetery Vestre Cemetery ( da, Vestre Kirkegård, meaning "Western Cemetery") is located in a large park setting in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With its 54 hectares it is the largest cemetery in Denmark. The cemetery is landscape ...

, with a gravestone in the

art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

style designed by

Thorvald Bindesbøll Thorvald Bindesbøll (21 July 1846 – 27 August 1908) was a Danish National romantic architect, sculptor and ornamental artist. He designed the Dragon Fountain, Copenhagen (''Dragespringvandet'') and is perhaps best known as the creator of t ...

and erected in 1908.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tofte, Valdemar 1832 births 1907 deaths Burials at Vestre Cemetery, Copenhagen Musicians from Copenhagen 19th-century Danish musicians Danish male musicians 19th-century male musicians