DAVID, FERDINAND

DAVID, FERDINAND (1810–1873), German violinist. David, who was born in Hamburg, was a pupil of Spohr. He made his first concert tour at the age of 15, accompanied by his sister Louise, who, as Madame Dulcken, became a well-known pianist. In Berlin he was a close friend of Felix mendelssohn , and in 1836 was appointed leader of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, which Mendelssohn conducted. From 1843 he was instructor of violin at the Leipzig Conservatory. David helped Mendelssohn with technical advice on his violin concerto, and gave its first performance at a Gewandhaus concert on March 13, 1845. David's main importance was as a teacher. Some of the greatest violinists of the second half of the 19th century, including Joachim and Wilhelm, were his pupils. His Violinschule ("System for the Violin") and his violin studies continue to be used, but his important anthology of violin masterpieces from the Baroque period to the 19th century has lost its value because his editing became outdated. The popularity of David's own compositions – which included symphonies and five violin concertos – did not outlive him. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Eckardt, Ferdinand David und die Familie Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1888); A. Bachmann, Les Grands Violonistes du Passé (1913); A. Moser, Geschichte des Violinspiels (1923); Baker, Biog Dict; Grove, Dict; MGG; Riemann-Gurlitt. (Josef Tal)