August Wilhelmj was a German violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

ist and teacher.

Wilhelmj was a child prodigy. When Henriette Sontag

Henriette Sontag

Henriette Sontag was a German operatic soprano of great international renown. She possessed a sweet-toned, lyrical voice and was a brilliant exponent of florid singing.-Life:...

 heard him in 1852, when he was seven, she said "You will be the German Paganini

Niccolò Paganini

Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...

". In 1861, Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...

 heard him and sent him to Ferdinand David with a letter containing the words "Let me present you the future Paganini!".

He has become famous for his late nineteenth century arrangement of the second movement

Movement (music)

A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...

 of J. S. Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...

's Orchestral Suite No. 3 for violin and piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

, known as Air on the G String

Air on the G String

The "Air on the G String" is an adaptation by August Wilhelmj of the Air, the second movement from Johann Sebastian Bach's Orchestral Suite No...

.

From 1894 on he was a teacher for violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...

. Among his pupils were the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 violinist Nahan Franko

Nahan Franko

Nahan Franko was an American violinist, conductor and concert promoter. His brother was violinist and conductor Sam Franko.Franko was born in New Orleans, and studied the violin in Europe with Joseph Joachim and August Wilhelmj...

, the multi-talented Canadian musician Donald Heins

Donald Heins

Donald Heins was a Canadian violinist, violist, conductor, organist, composer, and music educator of English birth. He notably founded the first professional orchestra in Ottawa, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra , in 1902, serving as its director until 1927...

, and the Australian conductor Aylmer Buesst

Aylmer Buesst

Aylmer Buesst was an Australian conductor, teacher and scholar, who spent his career in the United Kingdom. He was mainly associated with opera and vocal music...

.

External links

• Listen to wax cylinder recordings of Wilhelmj - the British Library