For Subscribers

‘He found himself surrounded by a mob’ - From the Archive: September 1895

2025-09-05T08:32:00

Louis_Spohr_von_J_Roux

The violinist William Wolff recalls some anecdotes about his old friend, the great violinist and composer Louis Spohr (1784–1859)

No artist was ever more appreciated and honoured during his lifetime than Spohr, and it is greatly to his credit that during his long artistic career he not only preserved an admirable modesty and unpresumptuous demeanour, but he never affected superiority. In his public performances his great ambition was to feel satisfied with himself, being his own severest critic. When he was recalled by the public he always used to say that he felt as if he was led to the scaffold…

Already subscribed? Please sign in

Subscribe to continue reading…

We’re delighted that you are enjoying our website. For a limited period, you can try an online subscription to The Strad completely free of charge.

  • Free 7-day trial

    Not sure about subscribing? Sign up now to read this article in full and you’ll also receive unlimited access to premium online content, including the digital edition and online archive for 7 days.

    Free trial

    No strings attached – we won’t ask for your card details

  • Subscribe 

    No more paywalls. To enjoy the best in-depth features and analysis from The Strad’s latest and past issues, upgrade to a subscription now. You’ll also enjoy regular issues and special supplements* and access to an online archive of issues back to 2010.

    Subscribe

 

* Issues and supplements are available as both print and digital editions. Online subscribers will only receive access to the digital versions.