The Invisible Violinist.

Martin Pierre Joseph Marsick may not be on the tip of your tongue when you try to name an important violinist of past times, but this little-remembered Belgian violinist and composer forms an important link the history of violin playing.
A contemporary of the composers Jules Massanet and Camille Saint-Saens, Marsick was to teach a new generation of violinists including Jacques Thibaud, George Enescu (a teacher of Yehudi Menuhin) and Carl Flesch – whose influence on the modern school of violin playing is immense. Marsick himself was taught by the famous collaborator of Brahms – Joseph Joachim. So why has history forgotten Marsick? Was it because of the other great Belgian violinist, Eugène Ysaÿe?
With just a decade between them. Ysaÿe and Marsick were almost exact contemporaries. Both studied at the Liège Conservatory and they both began their studies with Rodolphe Massart, a disciple of Kreutzer. Each became a violinist-composer, important exponents of the 'Franco-Belgian' School of violin playing and led successful string quartets (The Quatour Marsick and the Ysaye Quartet).

Marsick's Legacy as a Teacher.

Marsick's success as a teacher is illustrated by some of the fantastic violinists he coached as a teacher at the Paris Conservatoire. One of them, Jacques Thibaut, described his systematic teaching method, using the studies of Gavinies, Rode, Fiorillo, Dont – a new study was to be prepared for every lesson, and with three lessons a week, it would seem that the teacher was keen to challenge the pupil's stamina and development. Thibaud explains:

“With him [Marsick] I believe that three essentials - absolute purity of pitch, equality of tone and sonority of tone, in connection with the bow - are the base on which everything else rests.”
(From: Violin Mastery – Talks with Master Violinists and Teachers by Frederick H Martens, New York, 1919.)

Playing Style.

Marsick's own playing was praised particularly by Vieuxtemps who witnessed Marsick's debut performance at the Concerts Populaires in Paris of Vieuxtemps' own 4th Violin Concerto. European tours were to follow and in 1885 he toured Russia. Then, in 1895-6, he toured the United States. His delivery was apparently large in style, with a sophisticated bowing technique.

Original arrangements and compositions.

According to E. Van der Straeten in 'The History of the Violin', Marsick composed 'three violin concertos and a number of effective pieces.' However, the violin concertos are not listed in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians online, and they have certainly not become part of a violinists' mainstream repertoire. He is perhaps most well known today for his transcription of Massenet's Meditation from Thais for violin and piano, and it seems that he was probably the most qualified man to do this - as a contemporary of Massenet and ex-opera orchestra player.

His Violin

Marsick apparently owned several fine violins and his 1705 Antonio Stradivarius was played later by David Oistrakh.

Marsick seems to be one of violin history's forgotten characters, whose almost invisible legacy pervades our modern times.

Dates:
Martin Pierre (Joseph) Marsick 1847-1924
Eugène (Auguste) Ysaÿe 1858-1931
Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet 1842-1912
[Charles] Camille Saint-Saens 1835-1921
Henry Vieuxtemps 1820-1881
Jaques Thibaud 1880-1953
Georges Enescu 1881-1955
Carl Flesch 1873-1944
Yehudi Menuhin 1916-1999

Some interesting remarks from around the web:

Past owners of Marsick's 1705 Stradivarius include: Baumgartner, Delgay, E. Français, Perilhou, Vatelot, Vormbaum and Wilmotte. (From: jose-sanchez-penzo.net/strad.html)

From the German Wikipedia site: 'On the grounds of a personal scandal, he went to the USA in 1900 and ended his teaching at the Paris Conservatoire.' (“Auf Grund eines privaten Skandals ging er 1900 in die USA und beendete seine Lehrtätigkeit am Conservatoire.” )

Fiona Vilnite musicforstrings.com