Paul Tortelier (21 March 1914 – 18 December 1990) was 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 ...

and composer. After an outstanding student career at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Ja ...

he played in orchestras in France and the US before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war he became a well-known soloist, playing in countries round the globe. He taught at music schools in France, Germany and China, and gave televised masterclasses in England. He was particularly associated with the solo part in

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

's ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'', cello concertos by

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

and others, and

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

Cello Suites The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007–1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). They are some of the most frequently performed solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the p ...

Life and work

Early years

Tortelier was born in Paris, the son of Joseph Tortelier and his wife Marguerite, ''née'' Boura. Joseph, who came from a family with Breton roots, was a ''menuisier-ébéniste'' – a carpenter-cabinet-maker – in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

. Tortelier's mother had a particular love of the cello and he began to play the instrument when he was six.Obituary, ''The Times'', 19 December 1990, p. 14 His general education was at the École Lucien Lafflessele, and from the age of nine he studied the cello with Louis Feuillard. At the age of 12 Tortelier entered the

, where he studied the cello with Gérard Hekking. While a student he earned an income in a trio playing accompaniments to silent films.Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 19 December 1990, p. 19 He won the conservatoire's first prize when he was 16, playing the Elgar Cello Concerto, Goodwin, Noël
"Tortelier, Paul"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, 2001 and then he studied

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

and composition under Jean Gallon. He made his professional début in 1931 at the age of 17, as soloist in Lalo's

Cello Concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...

with the

Orchestre Lamoureux The Orchestre Lamoureux () officially known as the Société des Nouveaux-Concerts and also known as the Concerts Lamoureux) is an orchestral concert society which once gave weekly concerts by its own orchestra, founded in Paris by Charles Lamoure ...

. In 1935 Tortelier joined the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra as first cellist and played with them until 1937. He gave performances under

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a Germany, German-born Conducting, conductor, pianist, and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French people, French cit ...

and

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...

, and played the solo part in

's ''

'' conducted by the composer.Martland, p. 292 In 1937 Tortelier accepted an invitation from

Serge Koussevitzky Serge Koussevitzky (born Sergey Aleksandrovich Kusevitsky;Koussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his sig ...

to join the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

. He remained until the 1939–40 season. He was in Paris during the

, teaching at the Conservatoire. He had a short-lived marriage to Madeleine Gaston, which ended in divorce in 1944. After the war he was principal cellist of the

Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire The Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire () was a symphony orchestra established in Paris in 1828. It gave its first concert on 9 March 1828 with music by Beethoven, Rossini, Meifreid, Rode and Cherubini. Administered by the phi ...

in 1946–47. In 1946 he married a cello pupil, Maud Monique Martin, with whom he had three children, all of whom became musicians: Yan Pascal, a violinist and subsequently a conductor; Maria de la Pau, a pianist; and Pomona, a cellist.

International solo career

In 1947 Tortelier's international career as a soloist began in Berlin and Amsterdam. After a concert in the latter city, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham, at which Tortelier again played the solo part in ''Don Quixote'', Beecham invited him to reprise his performance with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

(RPO) at a festival of Strauss's music in London, in the presence of the composer. Within days Tortelier gave a recital with

Gerald Moore Gerald Moore (30 July 1899 – 13 March 1987) was an English classical pianist best known for his career as a collaborative pianist for many distinguished musicians. Among those with whom he was closely associated were Dietrich Fischer-Diesk ...

at the

Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...

and recorded the Strauss piece with Beecham and the RPO. After the recital, the music critic of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' wrote that Tortelier showed himself to be "an artist of great distinction, whose playing combined technical mastery with fine musicianship throughout a programme including works by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

, and virtuoso show-pieces"."Recitals of the Week", ''The Times'', 13 October 1947, p. 7 He added: During his subsequent career Tortelier played throughout Europe, the Americas, Australia, North Africa, Israel, the USSR and Japan, but Britain remained central to his career, and most of his recordings over the next four decades were made there. He found the English baffling in their undemonstrative feelings, but he was fond of them: "I cannot speak of the English without emotion. I owe them everything in terms of my career". He was less at home with Americans, whom he found friendly but lacking in real love. In 1950 Tortelier was asked by

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,Karajan, but I never felt with any conductor what I felt with Casals"."Saraband", ''The Economist'', 25 August 1990, p. 82 More than any other cellist it was Casals who influenced him the most. Tortelier said that there was a spiritual quality in the older man's playing: "one never thought that Casals was playing the cello; he was playing music". Nonetheless, Tortelier gained technical insights from Casals, particularly the latter's flexible use of the left hand on the fingerboard and his assertive phrasing and articulation.Wilson, p. 97 He also absorbed Casals's approach to intonation, subtly sharpening or flattening the pitch of notes for the best harmonic effect. Casals said of Tortelier's mastery of the cello, "When you play you make it talk". Although he was not Jewish (he was an agnostic

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

) Tortelier was inspired by the ideals of the founders of the newly formed state of Israel in 1948, and in 1955–56 he lived with his wife and children in the

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

Ma'abarot Ma'abarot (, singular: Ma'abara ) were immigrant and refugee absorption camps established in Israel in the 1950s, constituting one of the largest public projects planned by the state to implement its sociospatial and housing policies. The ma' ...

, near

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. During this period he made his début as a conductor, with the Israel Philharmonic."Tortelier, Paul, (21 March 1914–18 Dec. 1990), cellist, composer, conductor"
''Who's Who & Who Was Who'', Oxford University Press, 2022 Tortelier's international career continued into his seventies. At a concert to mark his 75th birthday he was joined by colleagues including his friend

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

, who conducted the Saint-Saëns A-minor concerto with Tortelier as soloist and later in the concert joined him as fellow soloist in a composition of Tortelier's own, the "Valse, alla Maud". Tortelier died of a heart attack on 18 December 1990 at the age of 76 in the

domaine of Villarceaux The Domaine of Villarceaux is a French château, water garden and park located in the commune of Chaussy, Val-d'Oise, Chaussy in the Val d'Oise Department of France, 65 kilometers northwest of Paris. The Domaine is currently managed by the Regi ...

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

, Sir Charles Groves and Yan-Pascal Tortelier conducted, and the cellists included Maud Martin Tortelier, János Starker and two of Tortelier's former students, Arto Noras and Raphael Sommer.

Composer, teacher and innovator

Tortelier thought it important for executant musicians to write music, because he felt it enabled him to approach even repertory works as, to some extent, an act of re-creation:Coleman, Richard. "Paul Tortelier", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 2 August 1980, p. 2 His compositions include a

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

for two cellos and orchestra (1950), a solo cello suite in D, and two

sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

s for cello and piano. He wrote a set of

variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individual ...

for cello and orchestra (''May Music Save Peace''). He also wrote a

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

, the ''Israel Symphony''. Several of his compositions were included at a special concert to mark his 75th birthday at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

in 1989, in which his wife and son joined in his celebrations. He twice edited the

; his first version was published by Augener in 1961, and the second by Galliard in 1966. Tortelier's students included Noras, Sommer,

Jacqueline du Pré Jacqueline may refer to: People * Jacqueline (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jacqueline Moore (born 1964), ring name "Jacqueline", American professional wrestler Arts and entertainment * ''Jacqueline'' (1923 film) ...

, Anne Gastinel and Nathan Waks. He was a professor at the

(1956–69), the

Folkwang Hochschule The Folkwang University of the Arts is a university for music, theater, dance, design, and academic studies, located in four German cities of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1927, its traditional main location has been in the former Werden Abbey in ...

in Essen, Germany (1969–1975), and the Conservatoire Pierre Cochereau, Nice (1978–80). He was also an honorary professor at the Central Conservatoire in Beijing. In the 1960s and 1970s he gave a series of

master class ''Master Class'' is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional master class by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. The play features incidental vocal music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giac ...

es which were recorded and broadcast on TV by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. ''The Times'' said of them, "he was the first musician to popularise the master class on BBC television. With his deep-set, expressive eyes, his unruly mop of white hair and broken but articulate English he captivated his audience as much as his pupils". His physical resemblance to the traditional drawings of Cervantes's Don Quixote was remarked on. Pursuing his encouragement of rising talent, Tortelier was artistic director and panel chairman for Britain's first major cello competition, held in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

in 1975. 20 competitors from 12 countries took part, and the gala concert featured the premiere of Tortelier's own Concerto for Two Cellos, performed by the composer and his wife, with their son conducting. If Tortelier had to play or tune a violin he would do so holding it vertically, like a miniature cello. After he tuned his son's violin thus on one occasion, the young Yan Pascal commented that it did not sound as good when tuned upright as when tuned in its normal horizontal position. Tortelier concurred, and further consideration of the point led him to develop a new kind of endpin, hinged to bring the cello down from nearly vertical to a slope, so that the instrument vibrates more freely, giving greater projection of its sound.Wilson, p. 99 This suited some cellists more than others, and according to ''

Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

'' is "not widely used".

Honours

Tortelier was an honorary member of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

in London, held honorary degrees from three English universities, and was a Commander of the

Order of the Lion of Finland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

. A street in the Batignolles-Monceau, the

17th arrondissement of Paris The 17th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le dix-septième'' (; "the seventeenth"). The arrondissement, known as Batignol ...

, is named in his honour.

Recordings

Tortelier's extensive discography includes two sets of the

, the first made in Paris in 1960 and the second in London in 1982. He recorded ''Don Quixote'' twice: first with Beecham and the RPO in 1947 and then in 1973 with

Rudolf Kempe Rudolf Kempe (14 June 1910 – 12 May 1976) was a German conductor. Biography Kempe was born in Dresden, where from the age of fourteen he studied at the Dresden State Opera School. He played oboe in the opera orchestra of Dortmund and ...

and the Staatskapelle Dresden. '' Gramophone'' magazine said of the latter that despite the merits of rival recordings, "for sheer charm and elegance" this version won the palm. Tortelier made three studio recordings of the Elgar concerto – with Sir Malcolm Sargent and the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The ...

in 1953, Sir Adrian Boult and the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

in 1972, and Groves and the RPO in 1988. The BBC issued a recording of a 1972 concert performance of the concerto with Boult and the BBC Symphony, on a CD that also includes a performance of the Brahms Double Concerto with the Torteliers ''père et fils'' as soloists. His other recordings include concertos by

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

, Saint-Saëns, Dvořák and Walton, Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme, Beethoven's complete works for cello and piano with Éric Heidsieck and the cello sonatas of Debussy and Fauré with Jean Hubeau. With Menuhin he recorded the double concertos of Brahms and Delius.

Notes, references and sources

Notes

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

*
cellist.nl: Paul Tortelier biography, video, list of teachers and pupils

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tortelier, Paul 1914 births 1990 deaths Musicians from Paris French classical cellists French male composers French music educators Conservatoire de Paris alumni Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris 20th-century French composers 20th-century French classical musicians 20th-century French male musicians Academic staff of the Folkwang University of the Arts 20th-century French cellists Players of the Boston Symphony Orchestra