Françoise Groben

Françoise Groben (born December 4, 1965 in Luxembourg ; † May 28, 2011 there ) was a Luxembourg cellist .

biography

Françoise Groben was born on December 4, 1965 in Luxembourg. At the age of five she began playing the cello at the conservatory in her hometown with Francine Weber-Deprelle, Jean Join and, above all, with Georges Mallach. She completed her studies in Boris Pergamenschikow's master class at the Cologne University of Music , where she graduated with the concert exam. In addition, she took part in master classes by Daniil Schafran (Moscow), William Pleeth (London) and the Amadeus Quartet. She took part in public concert life very early on. In 1974 she co-founded the ensemble «Les musiciens», at the age of 15 she was selected for the youth orchestra of the European Community (ECYO) and played under the direction of Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Herbert von Karajan and Georg Solti ...

In addition to various national and international awards, Françoise Groben won 2nd prize and the silver medal at the 1990 International Tchaikovsky Competition, as well as special prizes from the Moscow Virtuosos and the Soviet Artists Association. In the same year she made her debut at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival with the Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio under Dimitri Kitayenko. This was followed by appearances in most Western and Eastern European countries, in renowned concert halls such as the Wiener Musikverein, the Festspielhaus Salzburg, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow and the Philharmonie of Saint-Petersburg. Several tours have taken her to Japan, China, the United States, Australia, Canada and Israel.

Françoise Groben played as a soloist with the local orchestras (RTL / OPL, Solistes européens, Les Musiciens) and with well-known foreign orchestras such as the Russian State Orchestra, the Moscow Radio and TV Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Georgian Chamber Orchestra, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the ECYO Chamber Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Virtuoso. Conductors were among others Juri Ahronowitsch, Pierre Cao, Alexander Dimitriev, Leopold Hager, Daniel Harding, Mstislav Rostropowitsch, David Shallon, Jevgeni Svetlanov. She has been invited to numerous festivals such as the Bratislava Festival, the Carinthian Summer, Colmar, Davos, Echternach, Graz (Styriarte), Krakow, Kuhmo, Montpellier, the Petersburg Spring and, at the invitation of Mstislav Rostropowitsch, to the MIDEM in Cannes. She made recordings for the labels Capriccio, ECM, Naxos, Haenssler, Sony, Ars, Fantasia Classics, as well as for numerous radio and television stations. Françoise Groben has premiered a number of contemporary works, including a. three cello concertos written for her by the Luxembourg composers Alexander Müllenbach, Claude Lenners and Marcel Wengler and which she also performed on tours abroad. Foreign composers have also dedicated works to her. B. Hilary Tann, Dirk Lötfering ...

As a sought-after chamber music partner, she played a. a. with Paul Badura-Skoda, Ivan Gajan, Bernd Glemser, Hartmut Höll, Cyprien Katsaris, John Edward Kelly, Natscha Korsakova, Adrienne Krausz, Claudia Kussmaul, Boris Pergamenschikow, Alfredo Perl, Ronald van Spaendonck, Alexandre Tharaud, Romano Tommasini, Ita Witoschynskyj. From 1997 to 2003 she was a member of the Zehetmair Quartet, with whom she undertook numerous international tours. Your CD recordings for the ECM label have been celebrated by the international press. a. In 2003 they received the "Gramophone Record of the Year Award". With Graf Mourja and Peter Laul, she recorded all of Brahms' piano trios for the Paris label «Integral Classic». Your recording was awarded a Diapason d'Or. With Christiane Meininger, flute, and Rainer Gepp, piano, she campaigned for the rich work of female composers for many years and recorded four CDs. She played a Matteo Gofriller cello (1695) which was generously made available to her by the Banque Générale de Luxembourg. Françoise Groben died unexpectedly on May 28, 2011 of relentless suffering.

Discography

• Béla Bartok: String Quartet No. 4. Karl Amadeus Hartmann: String Quartet No. 1. Zehetmair Quartet. Thomas Zehetmair, violin; Ulf Schneider, violin; Ruth Killius, viola; Françoise Groben, violoncello. ECM 1727 (2001)
• Amy Beach: Rendezvous. Chamber music and love songs from the Belle Epoque. Jörg Waschinski, soprano. Christiane Meininger, flute; Françoise Groben, cello; Rainer Gepp, piano. PHOENIX 188 (2009)
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Triple Concerto op. 56. Collegium Musicum Universität Karlsruhe. Natasha Korsakova, violin, Françoise Groben, cello, Ira Witoschynskyj, piano. Hubert Heitz. HC 049 (2005)
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata in G minor for cello and piano op. 5 No. 2. Adrienne Krausz, piano. Cassette Françoise Groben. SONY-DADC, Salzburg. BGL BNP PARIBAS 2012.
• Ernest Bloch: Schelomo / Camille Saint-Saëns: l. Concerto for cello and orchestra op. 33 / Piotr Ilyitch Tchaïkowski: Variations on a Rococo theme op. 33. OPL. David Shallon. BGL 99/1
• Luigi Boccherini: Concerts for cello and orchestra No. 2, 3 and 8. Solistes Européens. Jack Martin Haendler. SEL 93.11-017 DDD
• Luigi Boccherini: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in D major, G, 479th Chamber Orchestra of the ECYO. James Judd. European Parliament, Strasbourg. 1992.
• Johannes Brahms: Piano Trios No. 2 Op. 87 and No. 3 Op. 101. Mourja Graf, violin; Françoise Groben, violoncello, Peter Laul, piano. Integral Classic. Diapason d'Or.
• Johannes Brahms: String Sextet No. 1 in B flat major, op. 18. PI Tchaikowski: String Sextet in D minor, op. 70 "Souvenir de Florence". String Sextet Zurich. Primos Novsak, Ralph Orendain, Michel Rouilly, Pascal Siffert, Françoise Groben, Susanne Basler. PAMC-504 Tokyo
• Johannes Brahms: Feldeinsamkeit op. 86, no. 7; Sapphic Ode op. 94, No. 4; Like Melodies I prefer op. 105, No. 1. Hungarian Dances No. 1, 3, 5, 7. Ira Maria Witoschynskyj, piano; SWR / ARS 38 435 (2004)
• Ferrucio Busoni: Chamber Music. Fairy tale. Serenata in G minor op. 34. Kultaselle. Françoise Groben, cello. Ira Witoschynskyj, piano. CAPRICCIO 10794 (1998)
• Franz Danzi: Chamber Music. 24 duos for two cellos. Variations on a theme from Mozart's “Don Giovanni” - Cello Concerto No. 1 in A major. Orchestra Matthias Baur. FANTASIA CLASSICS 56804 (2004)
• Chen Yi: Night Thoughts / Elisenda Fabregas: Voices of the Rainforest / Libby Larsen: Slow Structures / Kate Waring: Alapana. The Rainforest. HÄNSSLER PH 11039 (2011)
• Edward Elgar: Concerto for cello and orchestra in E minor, op. 85. Dmitri Shostakovich: Concerto No. 1 for cello and orchestra in E flat major, op. 107. Orchester symphonique de RTL. Direction: Léopold Hager. VIENNOLA / RTL
• Elisenda Fabregas / Elena Kats-chernin / Hilary Tann: Gardens of Anna Maria Luisa de Medicis. Voces de mi Tierra / The Cresset Stone / Colors of the Sea. Meininger trio. Christiane Meininger, Françoise Groben, Rainer Gepp. HÄNSSLER PH 5019 (2005)
• Louise Farrenc (1804–1875): Trio in E minor op. 45. Katherine Hoover (* 1937): Lyric Trio. Marcelle de Manziarly (1899–1989): Trio for flute, cello and piano. Meininger trio. Christiane Meininger, flute; Françoise Groben, cello; Rainer Gepp, piano. NCA 60130-215 (2002)
• Sofia Gudaidulina (* 1931): The seven words. «Today you will be with me in paradise. My god why did you leave me Father, in your hands I commend my spirit. “Orchester de chambre du Luxembourg. Conductor: Werner Ehrhardt. Philharmonie Luxemburg, 2006. Cassette Françoise Groben. Sony - Dadc.
• Edvard Grieg: Sonata for cello and piano op.36 / Serge Rachmaninov: Sonata in G minor for cello and piano op.19. Piano. AUROPHON AV 32 190 (1993)
• Joseph Haydn: Concerto in C major for cello and orchestra VIIb / 1. Solistes européens, Jack Martin Haendler. PDO Hanover. SEL 1990.
• Hans Kox: The Silent Cry (2001); Gallows Trio (1997). John-Edward Kelly, saxophone; Françoise Groben, cello; Bob Versteegh, piano. ATTACCA 25101
• Bohuslav Martinů: Concerto No. 1 for cello and orchestra. H 196. Orchester de Chambre du Luxembourg. Nicolas Brochot. Coffret Françoise Groben. SONY-DADC Salzburg. BGL BNP PARIBAS 2012.
• Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: String Octet op.20 / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Quartet for Flute and String Trio KV 285.Sony 52 K 68353
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Magic Flute. Overture. Concerto in D minor for piano and orchestra KV 466. Symphony No. 40 in G minor KV 550. Arrangements by Johann Wendt, Carl Czerny and Muzio Clementi "in rare solo instrumentation". ARS FCD 368 391
• Alexander Müllenbach: Concerto for cello and strings "Litanies de l'Ombre et de la Lumière" (1995). Berlin Philharmonic Virtuosos. Dir. Alexander Müllenbach. Festival International Echternach. 1995. Coffret Françoise Groben. SONY dadc. Salzburg. BGL BNP PARIBAS 2012.
• Francis Poulenc: Sonata for Cello and Piano. Françoise Groben, cello; Alexandre Tharaud, piano. NAXOS 8553612F
• Francis Poulenc: Complete Chamber Music. Vol 4. Le bal masqué. Le bestiaire. Rhapsody nègre. NAXOS. 2000.
• Sergei Prokofiev: Ouverture on Hebrew Themes in C minor. Op. 34th Davos Music Festival. Young Artists in Concert. 2009. SONY 68353.
• Robert Schumann: String Quartets Op. 41 No. 1 and Op. 41 No. 3. Zehetmair Quartet. Thomas Zehetmair, violin, Matthias Metzger, violin; Ruth Killius, viola; Françoise Groben, cello. Awards 2003. Record of the Year. ECM 1793 (2003)

Web links

• Of unspeakable virtuosity , Tageblatt , June 3, 2011.
• Décès de la violoncelliste luxembourgeoise Françoise Groben , Luxemburger Wort , March 14, 2012 (French).