2014 Alain Meunier (born 22 June 1942 in Paris) is a French

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

. Meunier was born in Paris, the third child among four siblings. Starting the

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

at the age of 13 and received premier prix in

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

at 15 and in

at 16. He suddenly quit musical activities at the age of 18 and studied musical aesthetics and

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

. However, he began cello again as 22 and played in front of

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,Accademia Musicale Chigiana The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Class ...

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

in Italy, and was a member of an ensemble "Piano Quintetto Chigiana" after

graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...

. He also studied

with

Maurice Maréchal Maurice Maréchal (3 October 1892 – 19 April 1964) was a French classical cellist. Maurice Maréchal was born in Dijon at the home of his parents, Jules Jacques Maréchal, an employee for Posts and Telegraphs, and Martha Justine Morier. Afte ...

. He taught at

Accademia Musicale Chigiana The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Class ...

from 22 years old, and served on the faculty at the

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Conservatory in France. He has been a professor of the

Conservatoire de Lyon A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

since 1989, and he is now director of "

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

International

String Quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

Competition". He has served on the

Rostropovich Cello Competition Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enlarged the cello rep ...

jury in 1986, and most recently on the "1st

Gaspar Cassadó Gaspar Cassadó i Moreu (30 September or 5 October 1897 – 24 December 1966) was a Catalan cellist and composer of the early 20th century. Biography Gaspar Cassadó i Moreu was born in Barcelona to a church musician father, Joaquim Cass ...

International Violoncello Competition in

Hachiōji is a Cities of Japan, city located in the Western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 561,344, and a population density of 3,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is ...

" in 2006.

External links

Gaspar Cassado International Violoncello Competition in Hachiōji
1942 births Living people Musicians from Paris French classical cellists Accademia Musicale Chigiana alumni {{Cellist-stub