Maurice Hewitt (6 October 1884 – 7 November 1971) was a French violinist and conductor, as well as a member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Life

Born in

Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometres from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of t ...

, Hewitt studied the violin at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. From 1914, he was a member of the ensemble ''Société des Instruments anciens'', from 1909 to 1930 a member of the

Capet Quartet The Capet String Quartet was a French musical ensemble founded in 1893, which remained in existence until 1928 or later. It made a number of recordings and was considered one of the leading string quartets of its time. Personnel The personnel o ...

, which was particularly dedicated to the interpretation of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

string quartet The term string quartet can refer 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 violinist ...

s. From 1930 to 1943 he led his own quartet, and in 1941 he founded the ''Orchestre de Chambre Hewitt''. He also founded the record company ''Les Discophiles Français''. Here he released six albums until 1942, including the first recording of

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera ...

s ''Six Concerts en Sextuor''. On further albums he released e.g. Mozarts's Clarinet Concerto KV 622 (with François Étienne), François Couperin's ''L'Impériale'' and ''L'Apothéose de Lulli'' and Mozarts's String Trios with the ''Trio Pasquier'' (Jean Pasquier, violin,

Pierre Pasquier Pierre Pasquier may refer to: * Pierre Pasquier (businessman) * Pierre Pasquier (colonial administrator) * Pierre Pasquier (violist) Pierre Pasquier (14 September 1902 – 1986) was a French violist. Born in Tours, Pasquier was a student of Mau ...

, viola und

Étienne Pasquier Étienne Pasquier (7 June 15291 September 1615) was a French lawyer and man of letters. By his own account he was born in Paris on 7 June 1529, but according to others he was born in 1528. He was called to the Paris bar in 1549. In 1558 he bec ...

, cello). From 1940 Hewitt was active in the Resistance, where he belonged to Colonel

Maurice Buckmaster Colonel Maurice James Buckmaster (11 January 1902 – 17 April 1992) was the leader of the French section of Special Operations Executive and was awarded the ''Croix de Guerre''. Apart from his war service, he was a corporate manager with the ...

's network. In 1943 he was denounced and arrested and in 1944 deported to the

Buchenwald Concentration Camp Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or s ...

(prison number 44007). There he founded an illegal string quartet with Polish inmates. After the

liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany inv ...

in 1945, he gave a concert with Gabriel Fauré's

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

in memory of the French who were deported to Germany and died there. Hewitt was active as a conductor and music teacher until the 1950s. He died in

Créteil Créteil () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Créteil is the '' préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of ...

in 1971.

Bibliography

* ''Konzentrationslager Buchenwald 1937-1945. Begleitband zur ständigen historischen Ausstellung.'' published by the memorial Buchenwald, Göttingen 1999

References

External links

Couperin, ''L'Imperiale'' (Maurice Hewitt Chamber Orch., 1941)
(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt, Maurice Buchenwald concentration camp survivors 20th-century French male classical violinists Conservatoire de Paris alumni French male conductors (music) French Resistance members 1884 births 1971 deaths People from Asnières-sur-Seine 20th-century French conductors (music)