Background
He was born in Vienna to Joseph Hellmesberger, Senior
He was born in Vienna to Joseph Hellmesberger, Senior
He studied at the Vienna Conservatory with Karl Udel (cello) and Anton Bruckner (music theory).
He was later, in 1896, solo cellist at the court opera. In 1902 he became Kapellmeister at the Vienna Volksoper under Carl Rainer Simons. In 1905 he took on as ballet conductor at the Königlichen Oper of Berlin.
From 1910 and on he worked as Kurkapellmeister in Abbazia (now in Croatia), Baden bei Wien, Marienbad (now in Czechoslovakian Republic), and Karlsbad (now in Czechoslovakian Republic)
At the time of his death in Vienna, he was the last of a family that played an important role in the Vienna musical life.
Among his students at the Vienna Conservatory was Franz Schmidt.
He was a member of the Vienna Hofburgkapelle from 1879. From 1883 he became a member of the Hellmesberger Quartet.