Molique, (Wilhelm) Bernhard

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Molique, (Wilhelm) Bernhard

Molique, (Wilhelm) Bernhard, noted German violinist, teacher, and composer; b. Nuremburg, Oct. 7, 1802; d. Cannstadt, near Stuttgart, May 10, 1869. He first studied with his father, making his first public appearance when he was 6. After some lessons with Spohr (1815), he studied with Rovelli in Munich (1816–17). He made his formal debut in Vienna on Dec. 28, 1817, and then became a member of the orch. of the Theater an der Wien. He was made concertmaster of the Munich Court Orch. (1820) and then of the Stuttgart orch., being granted the title of Musikdirektor. He won fame abroad with extended tours in the Netherlands, Russia, England, and France. The political crisis of 1848 caused him to settle in London, where he was prof, of composition at the Royal Coll. of Music (1861–66). After giving his farewell concert at St. James’s Hall (May 3, 1866), he retired to Cannstadt. His works include 6 violin concertos (1827–46), 8 string quartets (1841–53), pieces for violin and piano and for violin and flute, fantasias, rondos, and other works for solo violin, and many songs.

Bibliography

F. Schröder, B. M. und seine Instrumentalkompositionen (Stuttgart, 1923).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis Mclntire