On 22 April 1899, the sixtieth anniversary of Joseph Joachim's first public performance was observed in Berlin with a special concert. One hundred sixteen past and present violin and viola students gathered to form part of an orchestra of about two hundred players. Such a large gathering of former students was unprecedented, and was certainly an effective way of demonstrating to the rest of the musical world the extent to which Joachim was central to the network of violinists then practicing their profession. The celebration had been organized by Andreas Moser, himself a former student who became Joachim's colleague and collaborator on his biography and violin method. In addition to the concert, the remarkable gathering involved the pomp and circumstance of sixty trumpet heralds, a declaimed speech, and a banquet for seven hundred guests; and yet it was just one in a series of gala events recognizing Joachim's achievements during his lifetime.

No virtuoso was feted during his lifetime in the way Joachim was. The admiration of kings and queens, statesmen, scholars, virtuosi, and artists came together for Joachim in a unique way that culminated with multiple jubilees for the Geigerkönig. These ceremonial observances convey something of the far-reaching significance Joachim had for European culture in the decades before World War I. Within this context, what would it mean to be Joseph Joachim's student? Clearly, it would signify more than just learning to play the violin.

Teaching was just one of the ways Joachim worked to strengthen the foundations of musical life and continue the efforts of his mentor Felix Mendelssohn, whom Richard Taruskin has called “perhaps the nineteenth century's most important—and successful—civic musician.” Joachim's dedication to the greater good as well as great music made him a paragon of German culture. He was the recipient of international honors that included doctorates, medals, and membership in orders, and presided over venerable institutions such as the Akademie der Künste. He was a tireless fundraiser for monuments, including Schumann's in Bonn and Zwickau, Mendelssohn's in Leipzig, and the Haydn-Mozart-Beethoven Denkmal in Berlin, and he always seemed to be at the center of festivals observing anniversaries of composers.Along with their violin lessons, then, Joachim's students learned from his example how to revere great German music and musicians.