A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Molique, Bernhard
MOLIQUE, Bernhard, celebrated violinist and composer, was born Oct. 7, 1803, at Nuremberg. His father, a member of the town band, at first taught him several instruments, but Molique soon made the violin his special study. Spohr, in his Autobiography (i. 228), relates that, while staying at Nuremberg, in 1815, he gave some lessons to the boy, who already possessed remarkable proficiency on the instrument. Molique afterwards went to Munich, and studied for two years under Rovelli. After having lived for some time at Vienna, as member of the orchestra of the Theater-an-der-Wien, he returned in 1820 to Munich, and succeeded his master Rovelli as leader of the band. From Munich he made several tours through Germany, and soon established his reputation as an eminent virtuoso and a solid musician. In 1826 he accepted the post of leader of the Royal band at Stuttgardt, and remained there till 1849. In that year he came to England, where he spent the remaining part of his professional life. The sterling qualities of Molique as a player, and his sound musicianship, soon procured him an honourable position in the musical world of London. His first appearance at the Philharmonic was on May 14, 1849 [App. p.719 "1840"], when he played his own A minor Concerto. With the general public he was equally successful as a soloist, quartet-player and teacher, while the serious character and the fine workmanship of his compositions raised him high in the estimation of connoisseurs and musicians.
As an executant he showed a rare perfection of left-hand technique, but his bowing appears to have been somewhat wanting in breadth and freedom. His style of playing was usually very quiet, perhaps deficient in animation. As a composer he holds a prominent place among modern writers for the violin. The influence of Spohr is evident, not only in the character of most of his subjects, but also in his manner of treating and working them out, yet some of his works—especially the first two movements of his third Concerto in D minor, and of the fifth in A minor—are fine compositions. The main subjects are noble and pathetic, the form is masterly, the working-out and the scoring full of interest. On the other hand they suffer in effect by being too much spun out, and by being overladen with somewhat old-fashioned and extremely difficult passages. His other compositions, though evincing the same technical mastery, are very inferior in interest to these concertos—they bear hardly any traces of inspiration and had no great or lasting success.
Molique retired in 1866 to Canstadt near Stuttgardt, where he died in 1869. His daughter Anna is a good pianist. His principal published works are: 5 Violin-Concertos; 6 Quartets for stringed instruments; a Pianoforte Trio; a Symphony; 2 Masses, and an Oratorio, 'Abraham,' performed at the Norwich Festival in 1860. To these must be added Duos for two violins, and for flute and violin, with a number of smaller vocal and instrumental pieces.