| Biography | Maurice Gendron (December 26, 1920, near Nice August 20, 1990, Grez-sur-Loing) was a French cellist and teacher. He is widely considered one of the greatest cellists of the twentieth century.
He recorded most of the standard concerto repertoire with conductors such as Bernard Haitink, Raymond Leppard, and Pablo Casals, and with orchestras such as the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He also recorded the sonata repertoire with pianists such as Philippe Entremont and Jean Françaix. For 25 years, he was a member of a celebrated piano trio with Yehudi and Hephzibah Menuhin. He also made a famous recording of J. S. Bach's solo cello suites.
Gendron played with many musical stars of his time, including Benjamin Britten and Rudolf Serkin. The 18th-century Stradivarius that he played, which has become known as the ex-Gendron cello, was subsequently on loan to German cellist Maria Kliegel.
Gendron taught at the Yehudi Menuhin School and at the Paris Conservatoire. His students include Colin Carr, Chu Yibing and Jacqueline du Pré, among many others. In 2013, allegations emerged that he was abusive towards young students during his time as a teacher at the Yehudi Menuhin School in the 60s and 70s.
He was the first modern cellist to play Boccherini's Concerto in B flat in its original form, instead of the Grützmacher version. He gave the first Western performance of Prokofiev's Cello Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Walter Susskind, and was subsequently given exclusive rights to the piece's performance for 3 years.
His approach to cello playing is summed up in his book "L'Art du Violoncelle" which was written in collaboration with Walter Grimmer and published in 1999.
He is the father of the actor François-Éric Gendron. |