Thomas Beckmann

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Thomas Beckmann at a concert in the Andreaskirche Düsseldorf 2012

Thomas Beckmann (born April 18, 1957 in Düsseldorf ) is a German cellist who is also known for his commitment to homeless people .

Life

After studying classical philology and philosophy , Thomas Beckmann attended the music academies in Düsseldorf and Cologne . During his studies, he was engaged as a solo cellist in various professional orchestras. He received his first formative lessons from Jürgen Wolf, the solo cellist of the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker . In 1980 he became a master student of Pierre Fournier in Geneva .

Beckmann became known to a wider public through his appearances with combinations of classical sonatas with small works and pieces by Charlie Chaplin . The corresponding CD under the title “Oh! That Cello ”, which he recorded with the pianist Johannes Cernota , was awarded the German Record Critics' Prize. From 1986 to 1996 Beckmann made over 500 appearances in Germany alone. He also made guest tours to Japan , Scandinavia , Belgium , Spain , Italy , Russia and the Ukraine .

In 2010 Beckmann was honored with the Citizens' Prize awarded by the German newspapers for the first time. The jury made up of editors-in-chief recognized Beckmann's commitment to the homeless.

Beckmann lives in an apartment in the past since 1989 home of Clara and Robert Schumann in Düsseldorf's Old Town . He is married to the pianist Kayoko Beckmann-Matsushita.

"Together against the cold" - social commitment for the benefit of the homeless

Thomas Beckmann with Pope Benedict XVI.

In 1993 Beckmann founded the “Sleeping Bag for the Homeless” campaign in Düsseldorf after two women had frozen to death in Düsseldorf's old town. He was supported by the Catholic and Protestant churches as well as the Düsseldorf city administration. Building on these three pillars, in 1996 he developed the nationwide project “Together against the cold” for the benefit of homeless people. There are now project groups in around 100 German cities. For social commitment, Beckmann and his wife were awarded the Kiwanis Prize, the Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia , the “European Social Prize”, the “Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany” and, in 2010, the first recipient of the Citizens' Prize awarded by the Federal Association of German Newspaper Publishers of the German newspapers (endowment 20,000 euros). In 2013 Beckmann received the honorary award for social commitment from the Rhineland Regional Council (LVR). On December 13, 2013, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class, for his social commitment.

On the occasion of a concert in Castel Gandolfo on August 11, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI. : "The commitment of Caritas and Thomas Beckmann is not an externally imposed purpose, but comes from within from this music that overcomes the cold in us and opens our hearts."

Discography

  • Oh! That Cello (Music by Charlie Chaplin - Johannes Cernota, piano)
  • Short Pieces For The Cello (Kayoko, piano)
  • Thomas Beckmann - Charlie Chaplin (Kayoko, piano)
  • Beckmann plays the cello: Live recording - April 2000 - from the Berlin Philharmonic, Duo cello-piano (Kayoko, piano)
  • Beckmann plays the cello: Live recording - April 2006 - from the Berlin Philharmonic, solo suites by JS Bach

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Citizen Prize of the Newspapers for Thomas Beckmann. (No longer available online.) September 20, 2010, archived from the original on February 13, 2013 ; accessed on February 18, 2013 (German). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bdzv.de
  2. ^ NRW: Düsseldorf. Cellist Beckmann receives the Cross of Merit (kna) , RP Online December 12, 2013, accessed on December 13, 2013
  3. ↑ Birthday concert: Cantico vocal ensemble inspires the Pope together with cellist Thomas Beckmann , Wochenblatt of August 13, 2012, accessed on October 4, 2016
  4. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from September 19, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / schuetzen-bilk.de

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Beckmann, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German cellist
DATE OF BIRTH April 18, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Dusseldorf