Enrico Mainardi
Enrico Mainardi's talents were nurtured from an early age. He was given a small cello at the age of three, had his initial lessons a year later, and made his recital debut at the age of eight, playing a Beethoven sonata. His father put him into the bruising life of a touring child prodigy at that point, touring Europe. When he appeared in Bologna, his accompanist was the esteemed Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. He debuted in London at the age of 13 at a Promenade Concert conducted by Sir Henry Wood.
One of the most important of his early appearances was at the Bach-Reger Festival in Heidelberg, where he astonished the audience with his playing of the Cello Suite in C major by Bach. He was 16 at the time.
The outbreak of World War I made it impossible for Mainardi to continue touring. He set the instrument aside and took ordinary school studies; four years later, he took up the instrument again. His training had begun at such an early age that it was all a matter of instinct and muscle memory. He found that he had essentially forgotten how to play at a decent level and could no longer create a beautiful tone.
He entered the Academia di Santa Cecilia in Rome to study composition and piano. Disgusted by his lack of competence at cello, he did not attempt to study it until 1924. At that time, he went to Berlin to study with one of the leading teachers of the day, Hugo Becker. He had to re-learn, on an understanding, conscious level, what he had absorbed by instinct as a child.
He was able to re-establish his concert career and this time he added performance in chamber music to his activities. He made notable solo appearances in recital and with the leading orchestras and conductors. In 1933, he was appointed professor of cello at Santa Cecilia and in 1941, succeeded his teacher Becker at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin on the latter's death.
It took him a while to re-establish his career internationally after World War II. He became especially known for his chamber music performances. He extended his fame in Germany through much of the rest of Europe, though he did not become popular in France or England. However, even in those countries he was recognized as one of the great teachers of the instrument.
He had particular insight, not surprisingly, in the problems faced by talented youngsters who had to consciously learn what they had been taught as children. He was especially adept at recognizing and curing technical problems brought on by bad habits that his pupils had picked up in their younger years.
He did not normally prescribe bowings or fingerings for any particular pieces to his students. Instead, he preferred to teach them principals of fingering and how they related to particular issues in interpretation. He insisted that his pupils learn the entire score for whatever pieces they were playing, not just their own part. This included knowing what all the instruments of the orchestra were doing at any given moment in a concerto. His pupil Joan Dickson (who credits Mainardi with having saved her musical career when it was stalling at age 27) said he taught his students to recognize that proper phrasing is ruled by the harmonic progressions of a composition.
Mainardi was a charismatic performer with very handsome looks and a flair for dressing well. He said he chose his clothing for a concert with a view to what was appropriate for the particular music. Despite this, he did not indulge in platform histrionics to showcase the music or its particular difficulties. His repertoire was especially known for its high quality and intellectual content. Thus, he became known as a reserved performer lacking showmanship, which was, by all accounts, at odds with his off-stage personality. Consequently, he went into history as a musician's musician, rather than a crowd-pleasing one.
© TiVo
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Robert Schumann: Cello Concerto In A Minor, Op. 129 (1953)
Rias Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, Fritz Lehmann, Enrico Mainardi
Classical - Released by Classical Moments on 17 Jun 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert, F.: Symphony No. 8 / Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 / Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 (Schuricht) (1937, 1942, 1950-1952)
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Enrico Mainardi, Berliner Rundfunkorchester, Carl Schuricht
Classical - Released by Music and Arts Programs of America on 1 Apr 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Double Concerto, Op. 102
Edith Peinemann, Enrico Mainardi, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Hans Müller-Kray
Classical - Released by SWR Mediaservices GmbH on 1 Dec 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Récital (Mono Version)
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven & Brahms: Orchestral Works
Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, Georg Kulenkampff, Carl Schuricht, Enrico Mainardi, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Classical - Released by Archipel on 5 Mar 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Cello suite No. 4 in E flat
Classical - Released by Infinity on 8 Apr 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Enrico Mainardi - The Cello Champion, Vol. 2
Classical - Released by Documents 2 on 11 Aug 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Cello Concerto NO. 2, OP. 104 - Violin Concerto, OP. 53
Enrico Mainardi, Berliner Philharmoniker, Ida Haendel, National Symphony Orchestra
Concertos - Released by Altair on 31 Aug 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Cello Concerto, Op. 104 - Violin Concerto, Op. 53
Enrico Mainardi, Ida Haendel, Fritz Lehmann, Karl Rankl, Berliner Philharmoniker, The National Symphony Orchestra
Symphonic Music - Released by Infinity on 14 May 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mainardi & Zecchi Play Baroque Music
Pop - Released by RCA Records Label on 17 Dec 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Enrico Mainardi - The Cello Champion, Vol. 7
Classical - Released by Documents 2 on 11 Aug 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Enrico Mainardi - The Cello Champion, Vol. 10
Classical - Released by Documents 2 on 11 Aug 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Sonate Arpeggione (Mono Version)
Enrico Mainardi, Guido A. Borciani
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Concerto pour violoncelle No. 2, Op. 104, B. 191 (Mono Version)
Enrico Mainardi, Berliner Philharmoniker, Fritz Lehmann
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
HAYDN: Symphonies Nos. 95 and 100 / Cello Concerto (1950 / 1955 / 1958)
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Enrico Mainardi, Carl Schuricht
Classical - Released by SWR Classic on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Enrico Mainardi - The Cello Champion, Vol. 1
Classical - Released by Documents 2 on 11 Aug 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven & Brahms: Violin Concerto in D, OP. 61 - Concerto for Violin and Cello ("Double Concerto"), OP.102
Berliner Philharmoniker, Georg Kulenkampff, Enrico Mainardi, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Concertos - Released by Altair on 12 Sep 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Master of Music, Brahms - Concerto for Violin and Cello, Op.102, Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op.56
Georg Kulenkampff, Enrico Mainardi, Carl Schuricht, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks
Classical - Released by Oscardigital on 21 Jul 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven & Brahms: Violin Concerto, Op. 61 - Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, Op. 102
Georg Kulenkampff, Enrico Mainardi, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, Carl Schuricht, Berliner Philharmoniker, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Symphonic Music - Released by Infinity on 17 May 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart & J.S. Bach
The Roth Quartet, Enrico Mainardi
Classical - Released by Altair on 7 Jul 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
More Cello Giants, Vol. 3
Enrico Mainardi, Guido Alberto Borciani, Carlo Zecchi
Chamber Music - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 16 Nov 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo