Hugo Becker (born Jean Otto Eric Hugo Becker, 13 February 1863, died 30 July 1941) was a prominent
German cellist,
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 ...
teacher, and
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
. He studied at a young age with
Alfredo Piatti, and later
Friedrich Grützmacher in
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
.
Biography
He was born in 1863 in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
(then part of France, but transferred to the German Empire in 1871); his father
Jean Becker was a famous
violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
ist. His father tried teaching him violin at the age of six, but the young Becker loved cello, and switched over at the age of nine. By age fifteen he was touring with a
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 ...
made up of him, his father, sister, and brother. He had also become a leading cellist in the court orchestra in
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...
.
In 1884, Becker was appointed solo cellist with the
Frankfurt Opera Orchestra, and the following year became the leading cello teacher at the
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
Hoch Conservatory
Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium – Musikakademie was founded in Frankfurt am Main on 22 September 1878. Through the generosity of Frankfurter Joseph Hoch, who bequeathed the Conservatory one million German gold marks in his testament, a school for ...
. From 1909 to 1929, he was professor of cello at the Hochschule für Musik in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
;
[Artur Schnabel: Musiker 1882-1951, page 19-21, pub: Archives of the Academie der Künste / Wolke Verlag, 2001] among his students was
George Georgescu, who would replace him as cellist in the
Marteau Quartet before forsaking the cello for the conductor's podium on account of a hand injury.
[Biographical sketch published for Concursul George Georgescu 2008 International Contest for Performing Artists, Tulcea, Romania]
Later, Georgescu would remark, "All I know, I learned from Hugo Becker."
/ref> Becker also gave finishing lessons to Beatrice Harrison.[
During this time Becker also toured extensively and played ]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 ...
with Eugène Ysaÿe and Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...
in a piano trio
A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...
.,Artur Schnabel
Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-born classical pianist, composer and Pedagogy, pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th ...
and Carl Flesch as the third Schnabel Trio[ between 1914 and 1921.
He died on 30 July 1941.
]
Legacy
He owned two Stradivarius
A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...
cellos: the 1700 '' Cristiani'' and another one built in 1719 now known as the '' Becker''.[''The Pre-Raphaelite Cello'']
Somm Recordings SOMMCD0685 (2024), reviewed at ''MusicWeb International''
Selected works
*Andante religioso
*Three Pieces for Cello with Piano Accompaniment
*''Scènes d'amour'', duo
*''Deux Morceaux'': Romance, Duo
*''Deux Morceaux'': Valse gracieuse, Duo
*Cello Concerto, Op.10 in A major (published by Schott in parts in 1902, piano/cello version ca.1896, in score in 1904)
Sources
Allmusic
*Sadie, S. (ed.) (1980) ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians'', ol. # 2
References
1863 births
1941 deaths
Musicians from Strasbourg
German classical cellists
German music educators
German Romantic composers
Alsatian-German people
People from Alsace-Lorraine
German male classical composers
20th-century German male musicians
19th-century German male musicians
20th-century German cellists
{{Cellist-stub