January Hrimaly

Background

He was born in Pilsen, Austro-Hungary, the second son of the organist and composer Vojtěch Hřímalý (1809–1880), and a member of a notable Czechoslovakian musical family.

Education

Hřímalý studied violin at the Prague Conservatory (1855–1861), and went on to become leader of the Amsterdam Orchestra (1862–1868).

Career

In 1869 he was appointed violin teacher at the Moscow Conservatory. 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, 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 Number.

1 in Doctorate minor by Anton Arensky, with the composer at the piano and the cellist Anatoliy Brandukov.

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, Reinhold Glière, who dedicated his Octet for Strings, Operation

He published a number of technical exercises and studies, some of which were valued by Jascha Heifetz, and he died in Moscow in 1915.

Connections

teacher:

Pyotr Stolyarsky