Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (born 5 March 1987 in

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...

) is a German cellist. In 2005 she was one of the youngest participants to win first prize at the

Concours de violoncelle Rostropovitch The Concours de violoncelle Rostropovitch, (Cello Competition Mstislav Rostropovich), is an international cello competition established in 1977 by the city of Paris. See also * List of classical music competitions European Classical music ...

, the most important cello competition held every four years in Paris.

Career

Hecker is the fifth of eight children of a pastor's family from Kirchberg near Zwickau. Already at the age of five her passion for cello developed. In 1992 she began to study this instrument with Wieland Pörner at the . In 1999 she won several competitions of

Jugend musiziert ''Jugend musiziert'' is a music competition for children and adolescents in Germany on regional, federal and national level. ''Jugend musiziert'' in Germany In Germany, the nationwide competition refers to young adults up to 20 years and for the ...

; in 2001 the first prize and special prize at the international J. J. F. Dotzauer competition in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. From 2001 to 2005 she was taught by Professor Peter Bruns in

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

and

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

as an external pupil of the and since 2005 as a student of the

University of Music and Theatre Leipzig The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...

. She participated several times in

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

courses and

master class A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...

es. Hecker is one of the 23 young instrumentalists who were invited by the

Kronberg Academy The Kronberg Academy is an academy of chamber music based in Kronberg, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1993 by Raimund Trenkler, who has served since then as its chairman and artistic director. The academy's initial focus was on the cello and s ...

(Kronberg, Taunus) to work with the masters of their subjects at the Chamber Music Days for two weeks. From the 2009/10 to 2011/12 season, Hecker was an artist in the "Junge Wilde" series at the

Theater Dortmund Theater Dortmund is a theatrical organization that produces operas, musicals, ballets, plays, and concerts in Dortmund, Germany. It was founded as the Stadttheater Dortmund in 1904. Supported by the German Government, the organization owns and o ...

. On 8 June 2010 she played Schumann's

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 ...

, Op. 129, accompanied by the

Staatskapelle Berlin The Staatskapelle Berlin () is a German orchestra and the resident orchestra of the Berlin State Opera, Unter den Linden. The orchestra is one of the oldest in the world. Until the fall of the German Empire in 1918 the orchestra's name was ''Kön ...

under the baton of

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

, in the context of a much acclaimed gala concert in the Zwickauer Konzertsaal ''Neue Welt'' on the occasion of

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

's 200th birthday. Hecker is married to the pianist

Martin Helmchen Martin Helmchen (born 1982) is a German pianist. He has played with international orchestras and has recorded discs of many classical composers. Life Helmchen was born in Berlin. He began his piano studies at the age of six, and graduated from th ...

, and mother of three daughters.NW Neue Westfälische, Bielefeld, Artikel vom 17 January 2019 von Thomas Klingebiel: Herkules-Aufgabe für Top-Pianist Martin Helmchen; geprüft am 18. 01. 2019

References

External links

David Abrams: ''Gespräch mit Marie-Elisabeth Hecker'' vom 6. August 2006

Homepage von Marie-Elisabeth Hecker

Generalmanagement von Marie-Elisabeth Hecker

(NDR) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hecker, Marieelisabeth 1987 births Living people People from Zwickau German classical cellists 21st-century German musicians German women classical cellists 21st-century German women musicians 21st-century cellists