Amalie Joachim

Amalie Marie Joachim (née Schneeweiss; 10 May 1839 – 3 February 1899) was an Austrian-German contralto, working in opera and concert and as voice teacher. She was the wife of the violinist Joseph Joachim, and a friend of Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms, with whom she made international tours.

Career
Born Amalie Marie Schneeweiss in Maribor, Austrian Empire (now Maribor, Slovenia), she was the daughter of Franz Max Schneeweiss and his wife Eleonore, née Lindes. The family moved to Graz in the early 1850s. She appeared on stage from age 14, under the stage name Amalie Weiss. Her performing career started in Troppau via Hermannstadt eventually leading her to the Vienna Kärntnertortheater. In April 1862, she was engaged by the Opernhaus Hannover, where she had appeared as a guest several times. There, she met the concert master Joseph Joachim, whom she married on 10 June 1863 in the Schlosskirche. The couple had six children.

With her marriage, she retired from the stage, but she still performed as a concert singer, often together with her husband and Clara Schumann, a friend. They toured extensively, up to London. She participated in choral performances of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin up to 1870, and became one of their honorary members.

Johannes Brahms dedicated his Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano (Op. 91) to Amalie and her husband, which they could perform together. He wrote one song for their wedding and the baptism of their first son, who was named Johannes after Brahms, and the other decades later with the intention to help the couple's troubled marriage. Society believed that emotionally intense Lieder was only for men to experience, but Amalie rejected that stereotype while singing Brahms for 36 years.

Amalie was also a voice teacher and, on the recommendation of Johannes Brahms, Marie Fillunger studied under her at the Hochschule in Berlin in 1874.

The marriage was dissolved after 21 years, after the jealous Joachim had accused her of adultery. Brahms defended her position. She performed more often after the divorce, to make money. With Joseph being a well-respected violinist, fans held off from supporting Amalie at first. She soon became irresistible and people decided they could support both her and Joseph. Brahms and Joseph's relationship suffered after the divorce while Brahms and Amalie stayed cordial. Her focus was on Lied and oratorio. She was often accompanied by the pianist. In 1885 and 1886 she toured with Laura Rappoldi from Dresden. On 1 February 1888, she premiered in Berlin at a Liederabend (recital) in Berlin the second song of Fünf Lieder, Op. 105, by Johannes Brahms. She founded a school of singing (Gesangsschule) in Berlin. Her teaching style was inspired by Joseph's pedagogical techniques.

Amalie and Other Female Singers in the 19th Century

Many female singers in the 19th Century disappeared from the public after marriage or having children. Having a career in Opera could be seen as risque and undesirable. According to society, this was no place for a woman. Amalie "retired" to only concert and house party singing. Even after her divorce, she stuck to oratorio and art songs in a concert or in a home. The biographies of Joseph and Brahms fail to mention Amalie post-divorce. She seems to fall off the face of the earth. Archived newspaper articles and flyers tell us differently. She was left out of "Artists on Brahms" despite premiering many of his songs. The only female names that are mentioned in relation to Brahms consistently are Julius Stockhausen and a few others that were rumored to be romantically involved with him.

She died in 1899 in Berlin due to complications from a gallbladder surgery and was buried at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Cemetery.