For as long as I can remember, the name Joseph Joachim has intrigued me. I first saw it on the title page of Brahms’s Violin Concerto – which he dedicated to Joachim – when I was a boy studying the piece, then again in the score of the Bruch Violin Concerto in G Minor, which Joachim edited. Some of the first records I owned were of ‘vintage’ violinists, including Ysaÿe and Sarasate, but it was Joachim’s unique sound that especially captivated me. His recordings stuck out immediately. He was not a very emotional or passionate player like the others were. He had a very straight and pure sound. It was far more intense than the others, so I could immediately put a musical sound to the mysterious name. However, I had no idea of the depth and breadth of his creative output.

Then one night after a concert in Munich, a lady gave me a book she had written about Joachim. I began to research this fascinating figure, and was struck by his creativity and the breadth of his influence on Romantic composers. The program I’m bringing to Australia paints a musical picture of this extraordinary violinist and visionary.

Joachim came...