Anja Heidi Thauer (3 July 194518 October 1973) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

Biography

Born in

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

, Thauer had her first music lessons in the town of

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

. The family subsequently moved to

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative d ...

. Her parents, particularly her mother, Ruth Thauer (née Meister), recognised that she had an above-average musical talent at an early age. Thauer played violin and cello duets with her mother in public at age 12. She made her debut with the Baden-Baden orchestra at age 13 playing the Boccherini-Grützmacher B-flat cello concerto. In due course, Thauer attended the conservatory in Nuremberg. At age 14, Thauer was accepted into the master class of Professor

Ludwig Hoelscher Ludwig Hoelscher (23 August 19078 May 1996) was a German cellist. He played internationally as a soloist, and was well known as a chamber musician, first playing from 1932 in Elly Ney's piano trio, then in the Strub Quartet and other formations. ...

. At age 15, she studied with

André Navarra André-Nicolas Navarra (Biarritz, 13 October 1911 – Siena, 31 July 1988) was a French cellist and cello teacher. Early life He was born into a musical family in Biarritz, his father being a bassist of Italian descent."'Play From The Stomach, ...

at the

Paris Conservatory The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, and in parallel, she studied painting, philosophy and other literature courses at the

École normale supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

. Thanks to her adoptive father's senior position at

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

, Thauer lived with her mother in Paris when she was 15 years old. During her studies in Paris, Thauer developed a notable professional musical partnership with Claude Françaix, the daughter of

Jean Françaix Jean René Désiré Françaix (; 23 May 1912, in Le Mans – 25 September 1997, in Paris) was a French neoclassicism (music), neoclassical composer, piano, pianist, and orchestration, orchestrator, known for his prolific output and vibrant style. ...

, and the two performed his ''Fantasies''. At age 16, she won an international music competition in Paris. She received a four-year stipend from the French state. The next year, 1962, she was awarded the "Grand Prix with distinction" in the final exam among 22 candidates, and subsequently left the Conservatory. Thauer continued studying with Navarra for a year and received her diploma in 1963. In 1964, she was awarded the

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

Prize. She toured widely throughout England, Europe, Scandinavia and the Far East, but never performed in North America. Thauer performed radio concerts at Radio Bremen, at the SWR with the

Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra The Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (German: ''Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR'') was a German radio orchestra based in Stuttgart in Germany. History The ensemble was founded in 1945 by American occupation authorities as the orchest ...

, and at the NDR with the Hanover Radio Orchestra. She recorded commercially for Deutsche Grammophon, including the

Cello Concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...

of Dvořák with the

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title ...

conducted by

Zdeněk Mácal Zdeněk Mácal (; born 8 January 1936) is a Czech people, Czech Conducting, conductor. Mácal was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, and began violin lessons with his father at the age of four. He later attended the Brno Conservatory and the Janáč ...

, and chamber works of

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

and Jean Françaix with Jean Françaix as the pianist. Later, Thauer became involved in a relationship with a married doctor in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

. The relationship was broken off and, on 18 October 1973, Thauer committed suicide in her home in Germany. Five days later, the doctor also committed suicide.

Recordings

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

: Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra in B minor, op. 104 - Deutsche Grammophon *

: Suite No. 3 - Deutsche Grammophon *

: ''Fantasie'', with Jean Françaix, piano - Deutsche Grammophon *

Eugen d'Albert Eugen (originally Eugène) Francis Charles d'Albert (10 April 1864 – 3 March 1932) was a Scottish-born pianist and composer. Educated in Britain, d'Albert showed early musical talent and, at the age of seventeen, he won a scholarship to stud ...

: Cello Concerto in C major - Attaca 4/6413 *

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

: ''Arpeggion''e Sonata in a minor - Attaca 4/6413 * Jean Françaix: ''Movement perpetuel'' - Attaca 4/6413

References

External links

Eloquence Classics page on Deutsche Grammophon 4822181

Tamino Klassikforum discussion page on Anja Thauer

Capriccio Kulturforum discussion page on Anja Thauer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thauer, Anja 1945 births 1973 suicides German women classical cellists Musicians from Lübeck Conservatoire de Paris alumni 20th-century classical musicians 1973 deaths Suicides in Germany 20th-century cellists