Maurice Maréchal (3 October 1892 – 19 April 1964) was a French classical

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 ...

. Maurice Maréchal was born in

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

at the home of his parents, Jules Jacques Maréchal, an employee for Posts and Telegraphs, and Martha Justine Morier. After studying at the conservatory in his hometown, in 1905 he entered the Paris Conservatory where he studied with Jules-Leopold Loeb and won his first cello award in 1911 at the age of 19.

World War I

Three years later, France entered

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and Maréchal was drafted. He recorded his daily routine from August 1914 to February 1919 in his diaries, and recounted how two carpenter comrades carved him a rudimentary wooden cello from an ammunition box, with which he played for religious services and for officers. While in the service he met other musicians, including

Gustave Cloëz Gustave Cloëz (3 August 1890 – 15 March 1970)''Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014''. Social Security Administration. was a French conductor who was particularly active at the Paris Opéra-Comique in the mid-20th century, and made a significa ...

, Lucien Durosoir,

André Caplet André Caplet (23 November 1878 – 22 April 1925) was a French composer and conductor of classical music. He was a friend of Claude Debussy and completed the orchestration of several of Debussy's compositions as well as arrangements of severa ...

and Henri Lemoine, and formed with them a small ensemble that performed before the officer staff. Maréchal was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

in 1916, and was an Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

Musical career

After the war, he joined the

Concerts Lamoureux The Orchestre Lamoureux () officially known as the Société des Nouveaux-Concerts and also known as the Concerts Lamoureux) is an orchestral concert society which once gave weekly concerts by its own orchestra, founded in Paris by Charles Lamoureu ...

in 1919 for one year, and later the New York Orchestra. He then began a solo career. His friend Émile Poillot accompanied him on the piano during tours in Spain (1925 and 1926), France (1928), Singapore (1933) and the Dutch Indies (1933). In 1942 he was appointed professor at the

Conservatoire de Paris 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 ...

, a post he left a year before his death in 1964, at the age of 72. Among his pupils were Christine Walevska, Alain Lambert, Jean Moves and Alain Meunier. He was known for his interpretations of such works as the Sonata for Violin and Cello by

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

, in which he was the cellist in the sonata's premiere in 1922, along with violinist

Hélène Jourdan-Morhange Hélène Jourdan-Morhange (30 January 1888 – 15 May 1961) was a French classical violinist. Biography ''Née'' Hélène Morhange, she married the French painter Jacques Jean Raoul Jourdan (born 22 June 1880 in Paris), who died at the Batt ...

. He also was known for his interpretations of Épiphanie by

, and the concertos of

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

and

Édouard Lalo Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer. His most celebrated piece is the ''Symphonie espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra, which remains a popular work in the standard reper ...

World War II

Maréchal's career was again interrupted by war. When the Germans occupied France in 1940, Maréchal supported the Resistance. He also steadfastly refused all offers to play in Germany, or even on the German-dominated French radio program concerts. After the war when he resumed his career he was stricken with a progressive muscular disease that took the strength from his bowing arm. He gave his last concerts in 1950, and spent the rest of his life teaching and appearing on international juries.

Personal life

Maréchal was married to the former Lois Perkins of Norwich, CT, USA, an actress. They met in 1920 in France while Lois worked as a volunteer canteen worker with the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

. They had a daughter, Denise, and a son. Maréchal died Sunday, April 19, 1964, at his home in Paris following a kidney operation. His funeral took place in the Cathedral of St. Benignus, Dijon, on April 22. He is buried in the cemetery of Péjoces in Dijon.

Bibliography

Lois Perkins-Maréchal extensively discusses their life and her husband’s artistic activity in the book, "L'Amérique avant les gratte-ciel" ("America Before the Skyscrapers"), published by France-Empire in 1979. Nine of Maréchal’s diaries, together with letters of Lucien Durosoir, appeared in 2005 in a book titled "Two Musicians in the Great War," compiled by Duroisoir’s son, Luc Durosoir.Éditions Tallandier, Paris, 2005.

References

External link

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marechal, Maurice French classical cellists Musicians from Dijon 1892 births 1964 deaths 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century French musicians Officiers of the Légion d'honneur 20th-century cellists