Jacques Franco-Mendès (1816 – 22 August 1889) was a Dutch cellist and composer.
Life
He was born in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
in 1816, to a Portuguese Jewish family. Aged 13, he studied in Vienna with the cellist
Joseph Merk. He performed in London in 1831 with his brother , a violinist, in a concert given by
Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 177817 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and virtuoso pianist. His music reflects the Transition from Classical to Romantic music, transition from the Classical period (music), Classical to the Romantic ...
. He was afterwards appointed chamber cellist to King
William II of the Netherlands
William II ( nl, Willem Frederik George Lodewijk, anglicized as William Frederick George Louis; 6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849) was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg.
William II was the son of William ...
; in 1834 he became royal solo cellist.
["Cello Playing in 19th Century: France, Belgium and Holland"]
cello.org. Retrieved 23 July 2019.[Robin Stowell, Jonathan Cross. ''The Cambridge Companion to the Cello''. Cambridge University Press, 1999. Page 65.]
/ref>
In 1833 he and his brother gave concerts in cities in Germany, and in 1836 they performed in Paris. Joseph died in 1841; affected by the loss, for several years afterwards he gave concerts only in the Netherlands. In 1845 he took part in the festival in Bonn celebrating the unveiling of the Beethoven Memorial.["Franco-Mendès, Jacques"]
Cellosonate.nl. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
In 1860 Franco-Mendès settled in Paris, where he gave concerts; he died there on 22 August 1889.["Franco-Mendès, Jacques"]
ErnestReyer.com. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
Compositions
Franco-Mendès composed pieces for cello and piano, and a Grand Duo for two cellos; also two string quintets and a string quartet.[
]
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franco-Mendes, Jacques
1816 births
1889 deaths
Dutch Sephardi Jews
Dutch people of Portuguese-Jewish descent
Dutch classical cellists
Musicians from Amsterdam
19th-century classical musicians