Joseph Joachim (1831 – 1907) was a Hungarian violinist who was best pals with Johannes Brahms. His incredible energy and playing made him one of the most in-demand and best-connected musicians of the second half of the 19th century. As a violinist, conductor, composer and teacher he made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. Joachim studied playing the violin in Buda at the age of five, and later he continued his studies in Vienna and Leipzig. He made his debut in London in 1844, playing Beethoven's Violin Concerto, with Mendelssohn conducting. After years of teaching at the Leipzig Conservatory and playing as principal violinist of the Gewandhausorchester, he moved to Weimar in 1848, where Franz Liszt established a flourishing cultural life. From 1852, Joachim served at the court of Hanover, playing principal violin in the opera and conducting concerts, with months of free time in summer for concert tours. Later he was invited by Robert Schumann to the Lower Rhine Music Festival, where he met Clara Schumann and Brahms, with whom he performed for years to come. In 1879, he premiered Brahms' violin concerto with Brahms as a conductor. His playing was recorded in 1903.