Pierre Fournier
Pierre Léon Marie Fournier was born into a military family. His father was a general; his mother was musical and taught him piano lessons. At the age of 9, he suffered a mild attack of polio. Weakness of his legs made pedaling the piano difficult. So he turned to the cello, and after making rapid progress, he was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire. His teachers there were Paul Bazelaire and Anton Hekking; he graduated in 1924 at the age of 17. Fournier made his debut the year after his graduation. This was a solo appearance with the Concerts Colonne Orchestra, which received favorable notices. The almost invariable comment in reviews was the perfection of his bowing technique. He began a successful career as a touring concert artist and as a performer in chamber music concerts, gaining a great reputation in Europe.
In 1937 to 1939, he was the director of cello studies at the Ecole Normal. It was often said that he became a friendly rival with his contemporary, cellist Paul Tortelier, and after attending a Tortelier concert remarked to him, "Paul, I wish I had your left hand." Tortelier responded, "Pierre, I wish I had your right." To Fournier, the secret of his great right hand (i.e., bowing technique) was keeping the elbow high, holding the bow firmly, but allowing the hand and arm to move fluidly. He prescribed the Sevcik violin bowing studies for his cello students.
In 1941, he became a member of the faculty at the Paris Conservatoire, but during the war years, his concert touring career was impossible. Once the war was over, though, was able to resume and he rapidly increased in fame and international stature. His old audience found that he had grown in artistic depth. Hungarian violinist Joseph Szigeti, meeting Fournier in rehearsals for a 1947 Edinburgh Festival appearance, had not heard him for over ten years and wrote that he was "tremendously impressed by the Apollonian beauty and poise that his playing had acquired in the intervening years. Szigeti, Fournier, violist William Primrose, and pianist Artur Schnabel formed a piano quartet in those years and gave some fabled concerts at which they played virtually all of Schubert's and Brahms' piano chamber music. Sadly, the BBC acetate air checks of this cycle were allowed to deteriorate and have been lost.
Fournier made his first U.S. tour in 1948. His chamber music partner Artur Schnabel spread the word among cellists, other musicians, and critics that they were to be visited by a great new cellist. The New York and Boston critics were ecstatic. He had to give up his Conservatoire post because of his expanding concert career; he appeared in Moscow for the first time in 1959. Commentator Lev Grinberg wrote that he was notable for a romantic interpretation; clarity of form; vivid phrasing; and clean, broad bowing all "aimed at revealing the content."
He had a broad repertoire, including Bach, Boccherini, the Romantics, Debussy, Hindemith, and Prokofiev. Composers Martinu, Martinon, Martin, Roussel, and Poulenc all wrote works for him. He had a standing Friday night date to privately play chamber music with Alfred Cortot, the eminent French pianist, at which they might be visited by musicians like Jacques Thibaud. In 1953, he became a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor and was promoted to officer in 1963.
In 1972, he retired to Switzerland and gave master classes. He still gave concerts, even as late as 1984 when he was 78, and a London critic praised the fluency of his playing and his strong and solid left-hand technique.
© TiVo
Similar artists
-
Dvorak / Elgar: Cello Concertos
Pierre Fournier, Berliner Philharmoniker, George Szell, Alfred Wallenstein
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Aug 3, 1988
The Qobuz Essential Discography24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Cello Suites, BWV 1007-1012
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1961
The Qobuz Essential Discography24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Complete Works for Cello and Piano
Pierre Fournier, Friedrich Gulda
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1992
The Qobuz Essential Discography24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Lalo / Saint-Saens: Cello Concertos
Pierre Fournier, Orchestre Lamoureux, Berliner Philharmoniker, Alfred Wallenstein, Jean Martinon
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1999
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Schubert: Trios Op.99, Op.100
Arthur Grumiaux, Pierre Fournier, Nikita Magaloff
Classical - Released by NAR International on Apr 1, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruch: Kol Nidrei (Adagio for Cello and Orchestra), Op. 47 by Pierre Fournier (2024 Remastered, Studio 1961)
Orchestre Lamoureux, Pierre Fournier, Jean Martinon
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on Jul 31, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorák: Concerto pour violoncelle No. 2, Trio "Dumky"
Pierre Fournier, George Szell, Trio Suk, Berliner Philharmoniker
Classical - Released by Les Indispensables de Diapason on Sep 25, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" & Cello Concerto in B Minor (Remastered 2022)
Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Pierre Fournier, Vladimir Golschmann, Orchestra della Radio Svizzera Italiana, Hermann Scherchen
Classical - Released by Archipel on Oct 7, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Triple Concerto for Piano, Violin and Cello in C Major, Op. 56 (Remastered 2022)
Geza Anda, Pierre Fournier, Ferenc Fricsay
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on Feb 7, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Cello Works
Pierre Fournier, Wilhelm Kempff
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Mar 1, 1966
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonates pour violoncelle et piano
Pierre Fournier / Friedrich Gulda
Duets - Released by Les Indispensables de Diapason on Feb 28, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 by Pierre Fournier (Remastered 2022)
George Szell, Berliner Philharmoniker, Pierre Fournier
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on Jan 14, 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Double Concerto, Tragic Overture ; Bruch: Violin Concerto No.1
David Oïstrakh, Pierre Fournier
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Feb 1, 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pierre Fournier - Aristocrat of the Cello (6 CD's)
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorák: Cello Concerto / Bloch: Schelomo / Bruch: Kol Nidrei
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Sep 4, 1989
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: The Cello Suites
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on Jan 1, 1961
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Aristocrat of Cellists
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Aug 9, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: The Cello Sonatas by Pierre Fournier
Pierre Fournier, Wilhelm Backhaus
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on May 16, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Triple Concerto in C Major, Op. 56
Geza Anda, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Pierre Fournier, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jul 1, 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sanit- Saëns Le cygne
Chamber Music - Released by Artemisia on Jun 2, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: 6 Cello Suites BWV 1007, 1008, 1009, 1010, 1011 & 1012
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on Jan 1, 1961
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo