Ferdinand David (musician)

(German: [ˈdaːvɪt]; 19 June 1810 – 18 1873) a German virtuoso violinist and composer.

Born in the same house in Hamburg where Felix Mendelssohn had been born the previous year, David was raised Jewish but later converted to Christianity. David was a pupil of Louis Spohr and Moritz Hauptmann from 1823 to 1824 and in 1826 became a violinist at Königstädtischen Theater in Berlin. In 1829 he was the first violinist of Baron Carl Gotthard von Liphardt's (father of Karl Eduard von Liphart) string quartet in Dorpat and he undertook concert tours in Riga, Saint Petersburg and Moscow. In 1835 he became concertmaster (Konzertmeister) at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig working with Mendelssohn. David returned to Dorpat to marry Liphart's daughter Sophie. In 1843 David became the first professor of violin (Violinlehrer) at the newly founded Leipziger Konservatorium für Musik. David worked closely with Mendelssohn, providing technical advice during the preparation of the latter's Violin Concerto in E minor. He was also the soloist in the premiere of the work in 1845. He died suddenly in 1873, aged 63, while on a mountain excursion with his children, near Klosters in the Graubünden (Grisons) area of Switzerland.

David's own compositions number about 50 opuses. They include 12 "theme and variations" pieces for violin and Orchestra, five violin concertos, a string sextet, "Concertino's" for each; Violin, Bassoon, Clarinet & Trombone and Orchestra, and a number of Lieder. Supposedly he also wrote two symphonies and an opera (Hans Wacht, 1852). Unfortunately; these have not been found again. David's most played piece today is without a doubt his Concertino for Trombone and Orchestra (Op.4). This piece is very often used as the obligatory piece when auditioning for symphony-orchestras around the world.

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