Biography / Biogāfija / Biografia

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 ENG

Maxim Jacobsen was born in Mitau (now Jelgava) in Latvia (then under Russian rule) on June 26, 1887. He lived his first years in Riga. At the age of twelve he listened to violinist Bronisław Huberman. He was deeply impressed by the Polish violinist, and decided to become a violinist himself. His father resisted and gave no financial support for his upbringing. He changed his mind only after the young violinist trained with famous teachers (Hugo Heermann, Henri Marteau, Otakar Ševčík). 

Moving to Berlin, Jacobsen taught a large number of private students and directed a section of the Stern Conservatory. He married in the summer of 1919. The discrimination against Jews began in the 1930s and Jacobsen was forced to emigrate from Germany. He went to Italy where he received special permission from Mussolini to open a music school in Milan, the "Scuola Superiore di Musica". Among the many students, Jacobsen also became the Duce's violin teacher. When racial discrimination was also introduced in Italy, Jacobsen had to drop out of his school and moved to Brussels. He became the violin teacher of Queen Elizabeth of Belgium. The queen took two hours of lessons a day and the young princes also became his pupils. When the Germans invaded Belgium, the queen advised him to flee. Once again Jacobsen had to give up everything. Equipped with papers, he fled to the south of France, where he was interned. His Latvian passport could not be extended due to the war and Jacobsen was considered stateless. He was granted permission to emigrate to Portugal. When he received an offer from Boston, he was stopped aboard because his son and his daughter worked for the Germans in Brussels. His writings were burned in Germany and could no longer be published.

In Portugal he worked in the orchestra of the radio station Emissora Nacional. He spent several months a year in London as a teacher. Jacobsen also taught master classes in New Zealand. While not having a solo career to his credit, Jacobsen was one of the most important violin teachers of his time. His paraphrases on Kreutzer's and Kayser's Studies were considered by experts (including Carl Flesch, Fritz Kreisler, Otakar Ševčík and Walther Davisson) as pedagogically masterful works of study.

LAT

Maksims Jākobsens dzimis Mītavā (tagadējā Jelgava) Latvijā (toreiz Krievijas pakļautībā) 1887. gada 26. jūnijā. Pirmos gadus viņš nodzīvoja Rīgā. Divpadsmit gadu vecumā dzirdēja spēlējam poļu vijolnieku Broņislavu Hubermanu, kurš uz viņu atstāja tik dziļu iespaidu, ka nolēma pats kļūt par vijolnieku. Viņa tēvs pretojās un nesniedza nekādu finansiālu atbalstu izglītībai. Viņš pārdomāja tikai tad, kad jaunais vijolnieks jau mācījās pie izciliem skolotājiem (Hugo Heermann, Henri Marteau, Otakar Ševčík).

Pārcēlies uz Berlīni,  Jākobsens mācīja daudz privātstudentu un vadīja vijolnieku nodaļu Šterna konservatorijā. Viņš apprecējās 1919. gada vasarā. Ebreju diskriminācija sākās pagājušā gadsimta 30. gados, un Jākobsens bija spiests emigrēt no Vācijas. Viņš devās uz Itāliju, kur no Musolīni saņēma īpašu atļauju Milānā atvērt mūzikas skolu "Scuola Superiore di Musica". Starp daudzajiem studentiem Jākobsens  kļuva arī par Mussolīni vijoles skolotāju. Kad arī Itālijā tika ieviesta rasu diskriminācija, Jēkobsenam nācās pamest skolu un pārcelties uz Briseli. Tur viņš kļuva par Beļģijas karalienes Elizabetes vijoles skolotāju. Karaliene pie Jakobsena mācījās vijoli divas stundas stundās dienā, un arī jaunie prinči kļuva par skolniekiem. Kad vācieši iebruka Beļģijā, karaliene ieteica viņam bēgt. Kārtējo reizi Jākobsenam bija no visa jāatsakās. Apbruņojiess ar dokumentiem, viņš aizbēga uz Francijas dienvidiem, kur tika internēts. Viņa Latvijas pasei neizdevās pagarināt derīguma termiņu kara dēļ, un Jākobsens tika uzskatīts par bezpilsoni. Tomēr viņam tika dota atļauja emigrēt uz Portugāli. Kad  Jākobsens saņēma darba piedāvājumu no Bostonas, viņš tika aizturēts uz kuģa klāja, jo viņa dēls un meita strādāja pie vāciešiem Briselē. Jākobsena piezīmes tika sadedzinātas Vācijā un tās vairs nevarēja publicēt.

Portugālē viņš strādāja Emissora Nacional radiostacijas orķestrī. Un vairākus mēnešus gadā pavadīja Londonā kā skolotājs. Jākobsens pasniedza meistarklases arī Jaunzēlandē. Lai gan viņam nav bijusi solo karjera, kas būtu viņa nopelns, Jākobsens bija viens no nozīmīgākajiem sava laika vijoles skolotājiem. Viņa parafrāzes par Kreicera un Kajera studijām, eksperti (tostarp Karls Flešs, Fricis Kreislers, Otakars Ševčiks un Valters Deivisons) uzskatīja par pedagoģiski meistarīgiem studiju darbiem.

IT

Maxim Jacobsen nacque a Mitau (attuale Jelgava) in Lettonia (all’epoca sotto il dominio russo) il 26 giugno 1887. Visse i primi anni a Riga. A dodici anni ascoltò il violinista Bronislaw Huberman. Rimase profondamente impressionato dal violinista polacco, e decise di diventare lui stesso un violinista. Il padre oppose resistenza e non diede alcun sostegno finanziario per la sua educazione. Egli cambiò opinione solo dopo che il giovane violinista si formò con didatti famosi (Hugo Heermann, Henri Marteau, Otakar Sevcik).

Trasferitosi a Berlino, Jacobsen insegnò a un gran numero di studenti privati e diresse una sezione del Conservatorio Stern. Si sposò nell’estate del 1919. Iniziata negli anni ‘30 la discriminazione degli ebrei, Jacobsen fu costretto ad emigrare dalla Germania. Andò in Italia dove ricevette da Mussolini il permesso speciale di aprire una scuola di musica a Milano, la "Scuola Superiore di Musica". Tra i tanti allievi, Jacobsen divenne anche l’insegnante di violino del Duce. Quando la discriminazione razziale fu introdotta anche in Italia, Jacobsen dovette abbandonare la sua scuola e si trasferì a Bruxelles. Divenne l'insegnante di violino della regina Elisabetta del Belgio. La regina prendeva due ore di lezioni al giorno e anche i giovani principi divennero suoi allievi. Quando i tedeschi invasero il Belgio, la regina gli consigliò di fuggire. Ancora una volta Jacobsen dovette rinunciare a tutto. Dotato di documenti, fuggì nel sud della Francia, dove fu internato. Il suo passaporto lettone non poté essere prolungato a causa della guerra e Jacobsen fu considerato un apolide.Gli fu concesso il permesso di emigrare in Portogallo. Quando ricevette un’offerta da Boston, fu fermato a bordo perché suo figlio e sua figlia lavoravano per i tedeschi a Bruxelles. I suoi scritti furono bruciati in Germania e non potevano più essere pubblicati.

In Portogallo lavorò nell’orchestra dell’emittente radiofonica Emissora Nacional. Trascorse diversi mesi all’anno a Londra in qualità di insegnante. Jacobsen tenne corsi di perfezionamento anche in Nuova Zelanda. Pur non avendo a suo credito una carriera solistica, Jacobsen fu uno dei più importanti insegnanti di violino del suo tempo. Le sue parafrasi sugli Studi di Kreutzer e di Kayser furono considerate da esperti (fra i quali Carl Flesch, Fritz Kreisler, Otakar Sevcik e Walther Davisson) come opere di studio pedagogicamente magistrali.