Georges Frey (musician)

Georges Frey demonstrates his round arch to Albert Schweitzer

Georges Frey ( August 2, 1890 - October 7, 1975 ) was a French violinist, violist, and a specialist in round arches . He is the father of the pianist and organist Jean-Claude Frey.

biography

Georges Frey's early years are passed down through his memories. Born in Mulhouse on August 2, 1890, he received his first violin lessons from a former student of Joseph Joachim . After graduating from high school in Latin and Greek, he went to Paris to continue his violin studies with Daniel Herrmann. Frey also took private lessons from Henri Berthelier, a student of Joseph Lambert Massart and professor at the Conservatoire in Paris. At the beginning of 1914, Georges Frey went to Berlin, on the recommendation of the Swiss composer Hans Huber, to study with Henri Marteau at the Hochschule für Musik. Due to the political unrest, he was forced to return to Paris early. There he received a few last lessons from Berthelier, who, however, was already very weakened by a brain tumor.

In 1915, Georges Frey was a member of the 30th Battalion of 3rd Company and fought as a soldier in trenches, where he was wounded by German artillery on August 13, 1916. He survived due to the extraordinary skills of doctor Dr. André, who was General Foch's personal surgeon. At the end of the war, Georges Frey became director of the Conservatory in Mulhouse (1919-39), where he founded the famous concert series 'Jeudis du Conservatoire' (Thursdays of the Conservatory), for which he led leading musicians such as the mezzo-soprano Claire Croiza and the composer Albert Roussel (with which he performed his Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 28).

In January 1933, Georges Frey received an invitation from Albert Schweitzer to attend the concert of violinist Rolph Schroeder in Strasbourg , who played Bach's sonatas and partitas with the round arch there. Frey attended this concert, albeit with “great skepticism”. But only eight days later he had his first own round arch in his hands, which was based on Schroeder's model. From that moment on, Frey did not cease to actively promote the round arch by giving many recitals in France and Switzerland. The friendly ties with Albert Schweitzer promoted his interpretations of the polyphonic works for violin, as well as his inventive spirit, from which new models of the round arch sprang. The outbreak of World War II put an end to this fertile period of teaching and giving concerts: On December 13, 1940, the Frey family were expelled from Alsace, and two of their children found refuge near Thoune in Switzerland (Jean-Marie and Jean -Claude) and the other two in Clermont-Ferrand (Marianne and Michel). Nevertheless, the employment office in Vichy arranged for Frey to work as a violinist in around 30 performances of Arthur Honegger 's Jeanne au bûcher.

After the war, Frey became co-director of the new music school, a position he held until his retirement in 1955. He continued his career as a solo violinist and violist until around 1962. His concert programs increasingly included the sonatas and partitas by Bach, which he always played with the round arch, in accordance with the interpretive philosophy of his friend Albert Schweitzer.

The round arches by Georges Frey

According to Schweitzer's statements, Frey's first round arch was built in cooperation with a Swiss arch builder who was similar to that of Rolph Schroeder . Other arch models followed, according to Alfred Koenig. Frey changed the Schroeder arched model by inventing a mechanism to prevent the right hand and wrist from stiffening due to hair tension. Georges Frey also owned a Vega Bach Bow, which was built by the Danish violin maker Knud Vestergaard.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Georges Frey, Réminiscences, typescript, 1974 [76 pp.], Archives by Jean-Claude Frey.
2. ^ Daniel Herrmann was the violinist and co-director of the JS Bach Society, which was founded by Albert Schweitzer and Gustave Bret. Herrmann also taught at the Conservatoire in Lausanne. Cfr. Le Mercure musical (La revue musicale SIM), Volume 7, October 1911, p. 93.
3. ↑ Cfr. Alberto Bachmann, An Encyclopedia of the Violin, p. 343. See also: Raoul Vidas, How Berthelier of the Paris Conservatoire taught the violin, pp. 184–191.
4. ↑ Cfr. Georges Frey, De l'archet courbe à l'archet droit, p. 1.
5. ↑ The concertmaster was Pierre Reitlinger, winner of the “Prix d'excellence” of the Conservatoire in Paris in 1920.
6. ↑ Cfr. Albert Schweitzer, Les œuvres pour violon seul de Bach; de l'archet à utiliser pour leur exécution, in: Saisons d'Alsace, n.2, 1950, p. 144.
7. ^ Alfred Koenig (1899–1957) was a Swiss landscape painter and friend of Georges Frey.
8. ↑ Cfr. Alfred Koenig, letter to Georges Frey, February 21, 1953, p. 3.
9. ↑ Cfr. Knud Vestergaard, invoice to Georges Frey for a Vega Bach Bow, June 1957.

bibliography

• Alberto Bachmann, An Encyclopedia of the Violin, tr. By FH Martens, New York, Appleton, 1925.
• Gustave Doret, letter to Georges Frey, July 16, 1942, Jean-Claude Frey's archive.
• Georges Frey, De l'archet courbe à l'archet droit, Royaumont, 1962, typescript, archive by Jean-Claude Frey.
• Rudolf Gähler , The round arch for the violin - a phantom ?, Regensburg, ConBrio, 1997.
• Vincent d'Indy, letter to Georges Frey, December 10, 1924, Jean-Claude Frey archive.
• Alfred Koenig, letter to Georges Frey, February 18, 1953, Jean-Claude Frey archive.
• Alfred Koenig, letter to Georges Frey, February 21, 1953, archive of Jean-Claude Frey.
• Albert Schweitzer, The round violin bow, in: Schweizerische Musikzeitung, Zurich, March 15, 1933, Volume 73, No. 6, pp. 197–203.
• Albert Schweitzer, letter to Georges Frey, January 10, 1949, Jean-Claude Frey's archive.
• Albert Schweitzer, Les œuvres pour violon seul de Bach; de l'archet à utiliser pour leur execution, in: Saisons d'Alsace, n. 2, 1950, pp. 139–145.
• Knud Vestergaard, invoice to Georges Frey for a Vega Bach Bow, June 1957, archive of Jean-Claude Frey.
• Knud Vestergaard, letter to Georges Frey, August 1, 1957, archive of Jean-Claude Frey.
• Raoul Vidas, How Berthelier, of the Paris Conservatoire, taught the violin, in: Martens, Frederick H., String Mastery, Talks With Master Violinists, Viola Players and Violo