Paul Tortelier
A consummate artist whose approach to the cello was directed toward breathing life into the music, Paul Tortelier earned the respect and affection of countless colleagues. An enduring friendship with Pablo Casals found him playing, in the words of a French critic, Apollo to Casals' Jupiter. Like Casals, Tortelier emphasized using but one finger at a time on the string to allow free vibration. Fantasy and emotional freedom marked his performances and attracted numerous young players.
Given a cello by his mother at age six, Tortelier was prompted toward a career from the beginning. His first teacher, Beatrice Bluhm, exposed young Paul to the flexible wrist and free bowing arm favored by the Franco-Belgian School. At ten, Tortelier entered the Paris Conservatoire, where his studied with Gérard Hekking, who encouraged a sense of rhythmic freedom and instilled in his pupil an abiding love for Bach. While his lessons continued, he performed in Paris cafés and cinemas; at 16, he graduated from the Conservatoire with a first prize.
After joining the Paris Radio Orchestra as assistant principal, Tortelier made a debut with Lamoureux Concert Association, all the while studying harmony with Jean Gallon at the Conservatoire. Completion of those courses brought another first prize, this time in composition. As a member of the Monte Carlo Symphony Orchestra, Tortelier played under the direction of Toscanini and Walter and performed as soloist in Richard Strauss' Don Quixote under the composer's direction.
Though his career advanced in the late 1930s, taking him to Asia and Africa, as well as North and South America, WWII curtailed his activities. After the war, he resumed his concert appearances. Impressed by efforts to establish Israeli statehood, Tortelier (a Catholic) moved his family to Mabaroth, a kibbutz only several hundred yards from the enemy border. The first Prades Festival, celebrating the 200th anniversary of Bach's death in 1950, drew an invitation from Casals to be principal cellist. From 1956 to 1969, Tortelier was a professor at the Paris Conservatoire; from 1969 to 1975, he taught at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Germany. Conducting occupied more of his time in later years, as did composition (two concertos included). His book, How I Play, How I Teach, has become a standard text for performance of modern cello works.
© TiVo
Similar artists
-
Bach: Six suites pour violoncelle seul (Stereo Version)
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Double Concerto, Op. 102 - Beethoven: Violin Sonata, Op. 12 No. 1
Christian Ferras, Paul Tortelier, Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki
Concertmuziek - Released by Warner Classics on 24 apr. 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: 6 Cello Sonatas
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics International on 30 aug. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 & Violin Concerto No. 1
Paul Tortelier, David Oïstrakh, Paavo Berglund, Maxim Shostakovich
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 8 jan. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorak : Cello Concerto/Brahms : Double Concerto
Paul Tortelier, Yehudi Menuhin, Paavo Berglund, André Previn
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 15 jan. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 - Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 & Cello Concerto
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paul Tortelier, Otto Ackermann
Klassiek - Released by Datum on 5 mei 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Cello Concerto, Op. 85 (Mono Version)
Paul Tortelier, Sir Malcolm Sargent, BBC Symphony Orchestra
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1954
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Cello Suites, BWV 1007 - 1012
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 sep. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fauré: Cello Sonatas, Élégie, Sérénade & Papillon
Paul Tortelier, Eric Heidsieck
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 25 jun. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Cello Concerto - Bruch: Kol Nidrei - Boëllmann: Variations symphoniques
Paul Tortelier, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 25 sep. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Sonate Arpeggione - Grieg: Sonate pour violoncelle et piano (Stereo Version)
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best of Paul Tortelier
Klassiek - Released by Parlophone (France) on 2 jul. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vous connaissez forcément: la musique classique zen et relaxante
Paul Tortelier, Alexander Brailowsky, Mildred Clary
Klassiek - Released by BNF Collection on 10 jun. 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin & Rachmaninov: Cello Sonatas in G Minor
Paul Tortelier, Aldo Ciccolini
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 4 sep. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Don Quixote, Op. 35 & Dance Suite from Keyboard Pieces by François Couperin
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 7 jun. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Cello Concerto, Op. 104 & Rondo, Op. 94
Paul Tortelier, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 20 aug. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lalo: Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21 & Cello Concerto
Yan Pascal Tortelier, Paul Tortelier, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Louis Frémaux
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 27 jan. 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 32 & Other Pieces for Cello and Piano
Paul Tortelier, Maria De La Pau
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 9 nov. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Cello Concerto; Serenade for Strings
Paul Tortelier, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Groves
Klassiek - Released by Musical Concepts on 24 jul. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Falstaff, Cello Concerto & Transcriptions
Sir Adrian Boult, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Paul Tortelier
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 25 nov. 2005
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Six suites pour violoncelle seul (Mono Version)
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo