From the moment Hans Richter first worked in London with Wagner in May 1877 he was the talk of the town and on everyone's invitation list. By the time he had established his own series of Richter Concerts in 1880 he had no difficulty in filling his engagement diary with social calls, luncheons, dinners or tourist trips in the company of new-found friends. At first he was courted by Edward Dannreuther, Karl Armbruster and other admirers of Wagner who lived in London and championed his cause there; but Richter was monopolised by no-one and soon enlarged his circle to include those who were more catholic in their taste or wished to see native composers advanced. Many of those he met were of German parentage, or Germans living in London, and much of the social activity such as chamber music and dinners took place at the German Athenaeum Club in the capital. This was also true of cities elsewhere in England, particularly in Liverpool, where Max Bruch was in charge of the Philharmonic Society from 1880 to 1883, and in Manchester, where Hallé ruled its musical life until his death in 1895. By 1880 – his third visit to London – certain names were recurring in Richter's diary. There was the painter Alma Tadema, the music critics James Davison, Francis Hueffer and Joseph Bennett, the singer George Henschel, the impresario Hermann Franke, the pianist Walter Bache, the violinist Ernst Schiever, but there was also a name which was to recur until the end of Richter's life, Marie Joshua.

Mrs Joshua was a music lover and patroness of the arts who had a wide range of artists and musicians in her circle. Richter was soon among them and was a welcome guest at her weekly open Sunday lunches or at special gatherings which she organised either at her London residence in Westbourne Terrace, Hyde Park or at the family's country house at Felixstowe in Suffolk. Later (thanks to Richter) she became a fervent supporter of Elgar and it was to her that the composer wished to dedicate his violin sonata.