Joachim, Amalie

OPERA SINGER, VOICE TEACHER (AUSTRIAN EMPIRE)
BORN 10 May 1839, Maribor - DIED 3 Feb 1899, Berlin
BIRTH NAME Schneeweiss, Amalie Marie
CAUSE OF DEATH complications from a gallbladder surgery
GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Friedhof der Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirchengemeinde, Fürstenbrunnerweg 69-79 (Feld D-G2 Gitter (Ehemaliges Ehrengrab))

Amalie Schneeweiss was the daughter of Franz Max Schneeweiss and his wife Eleonore, born Lindes. In 1850 the family moved to Graz and from the age of 14 she appeared on the stage as a contralto under the name of Amalie Weiss. Her dramatic voice took her to the stages of England and the United States. She worked at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna.

In April 1862 was engaged at the the opera in Hanover. There she met the violinist Joachim Joseph at the home of Julius Stockhausen. They were engaged on 13 February 1863 and they married on 10 June 1863. She gave up her very promising professional career for the marriage and they had six children. She still performed as a concert singer in oratorios and reticals, often with her husband and her friend Clara Schumann. But the constant jealousy of Joachim wrecked the marriage and a divorce followed in 1882 after he had accused her of adultery.

After Joachim's friend Johannes Brahms defended her position the two men fell out with each other and it took several years before their friendship was restored. After the divorce Amalie performed more frequently in order to make money. The pianist Hans Schmidt often accompanied her. She toured with Laura Rappoldi in 1885 and 1886.

In 1899 she died after complications from an operation for gallbladder. She was buried in the cemetery of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche. Her former husband was buried beside her in 1907. Their graves were both graves of honour of the city of Berlin. Strangely, this status was extended for 20 years for her husband's grave in 2015 but not for her grave.

Family
• Husband: Joachim, Joseph (1863-1882, Hannover: Schlosskirche) (divorce or separation)

Related persons
• was helped by Brahms, Johannes
• performed with Rappoldi-Kahrer, Laura
• was a friend of Schumann, Clara

Events
10/4/1868"German Requiem" by Johannes Brahms is performed at Bremen Cathedral. It was the first complete performance of this work. Joseph Joachim and his wife Amelia had joined their friend in Bremen. Amelia sang "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth" and Joseph played Schumann's "Abendlied". Afterwards Brahms and his friends, including the Joachims, Clara Schumann, Max Bruch and Albert Dietrich, gathered at the Rathskeller. [Brahms, Johannes][Joachim, Joseph][Schumann, Clara]
17/8/1873Commemoration of Robert Schumann in Bonn to raise funds for a memorial. The music festival took place on 17-19 August. Funds were raised to replace Schumann's tombstone for a more worthy monument. The performances were conducted by Wilhelm von Wasielewski and Joseph Joachim. Clara Schumann herself was a performer. Others were Marie Wilt, Amalie Joachim, Marie Sartorius, Franz Diener, Julius Stockhausen, Adolph Schulze and Ernst Rudorff. [Joachim, Joseph][Schumann, Clara][Schumann, Robert][Stockhausen, Julius][Wilt, Marie]

Images

The grave of Joseph and Amalie Joachim at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Friedhof, Berlin.
Picture by Androom (29 Mar 2007)

 

Sources
Amalie Joachim - Wikipedia
Joseph Joachim - Wikipedia


Joachim, Joseph

Published: 21 Jul 2007
Last update: 20 Sep 2023