Jan Hřímalý (, also ''Ivan Voitsekhovich Grzhimali''; 13 April 1844 – ) was an influential Czech violinist and teacher, who was associated with the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

for 46 years in 1869–1915.

Biography

Hřímalý was born in

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

(then part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

), the second son of the organist and composer Vojtěch Hřímalý (1809–1880), and a member of a notable Czech musical family. He was taught by his older brother Vojtěch Hřímalý jr., and by Moritz Mildner. Hřímalý studied violin at the

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory () is a public music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, the school offers four- or six-year courses, which can be compared to the level of a high school diploma in other countries. Graduates c ...

(1855–1861), and went on to become leader of the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Orchestra (1862–1868). In 1869 he was appointed violin teacher at the

. He succeeded Ferdinand Laub as professor of violin studies 1874–1915. He was leader of the Russian Musical Society Orchestra in Moscow from 1874 until 1906. He was acquainted with

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

, who held him in high regard. He co-premiered Tchaikovsky's String Quartets Nos. 2 (1874) and 3 (1876). In March 1882, he appeared in the first performance (private) of Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio in A minor and may have also appeared in the public premiere in October, although this is not certain. He made a very early recording on wax cylinders of the Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor by

Anton Arensky Anton Stepanovich Arensky (; – ) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music. Biography Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving family in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and ha ...

, with the composer at the piano and the cellist

Anatoliy Brandukov Anatoly Andreyevich Brandukov ( – February 16, 1930) was a Russian cellist who premiered many cello pieces of prominent composers including Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Born as Russian classical music was flourishing in the middle ...

. This recording was made shortly after its composition and is almost certainly its first recording, although it is not complete. He was considered an outstanding teacher. His students included

Iosif Kotek Iosif Iosifovich Kotek, also seen as Josef or Yosif (, ''Iosif Iosifovič Kotek''; 4 January 1885), was a Russian violinist and composer remembered for his association with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He assisted Tchaikovsky with technical difficult ...

Reinhold Glière Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (23 June 1956), born Reinhold Ernest Glier, was a Russian and Soviet composer of German and Polish descent. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of RSFSR (1935) and People's Artist of USSR (1938). Biography ...

, who dedicated his Octet for Strings, Op. 5, to his teacher;

Paul Juon Paul Juon (, ''Pavel Fyodorovich Yuon''; 6 March 1872 – 21 August 1940) was a Russian-born Swiss composer. Life Juon was born in Moscow, where his father was an insurance official. His parents were Swiss, and he attended a German primary school ...

;

Vladimir Bakaleinikov Vladimir Romanovich Bakaleinikov, also Bakaleynikov and Bakaleinikoff (; 3 October 1885 in Moscow – 5 November 1953 in Pittsburgh) was a Russian-American violist, music educator, conductor and composer. Life and career Bakaleinikov, the son ...

; Arcady Dubensky; Stanisław Barcewicz, Pyotr Stolyarsky (the teacher of

David Oistrakh David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974) was a Soviet Russian violinist, List of violists, violist, and Conducting, conductor. He was also Professor at the Moscow Conservatory, People's Artist of the USSR (1953), and Laureate of the ...

Nathan Milstein Nathan Mironovich Milstein ( – December 21, 1992) was a Russian and American virtuoso violinist. Widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and for wo ...

, and many others);

Nikolai Roslavets Nikolai Andreevich Roslavets (23 August 1944, also Mykola Andriiovych Roslavets) was a modernist composer active in the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. Roslavets was a convinced modernist and cosmopolitan thinker; his music was offic ...

; Konstantin Saradzhev; Alexander Petschnikoff,

Mikhail Press Mikhail (Moisej) Isaakovich Press, also known as Michael Press, (; 29 August 1871, in Vilnius, Lithuania – 22 December 1938, in Lansing, Michigan) was a Russian-American violinist, conductor and music educator. Press began studying violin wit ...

, Alexander Schmuller; and possibly Mitrofan Vasiliev, the first violin teacher of

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...

. He published a number of technical exercises and studies, some of which were valued by

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-American violinist, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. Born in Vilnius, he was soon recognized as a child prodigy and was trained in the Russian classical violin styl ...

, and he died in Moscow in 1915. All his siblings were musically talented. Together with his brothers, Vojtěch (1842–1908), Jan Bartulomeus Čestmír (1844–1915), and Bohuslav Ferdinand Wenzl (1848–1894), they started the first string quartet in Bohemia. His sisters, Maria Regina (1839–1924) and Anna Jana (1840–1897) were renowned singers in Salzburg, Austria.Genealogy by Åke Backström, Sydney, genealogia.fi

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hrimaly, Jan 1844 births 1915 deaths Burials at Vvedenskoye Cemetery 19th-century Czech people 19th-century classical violinists Czech male classical violinists Czech classical violinists Russian male classical violinists Russian classical violinists Classical violinists from the Russian Empire Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the Russian Empire Prague Conservatory alumni Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory Musicians from Plzeň Czech music educators Violin educators Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky People from the Russian Empire of Czech descent 19th-century Czech male musicians