Suzette Forgues Halasz (14 April 1918 – 8 December 2004) was a Canadian cellist and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

. She held the post of principal cellist of the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only orch ...

from 1942 to 1946 and worked in the same capacity at the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

for many years. She was married to conductor Laszlo Halasz for over 50 years.

Life and career

Born Suzette Forgues in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, she was the daughter of T. A. Forgues and Margaret Gratton. She was a child prodigy and began giving public piano concerts at the age of 4. She began studying the cello seriously at the age of 10 with Gustave Labelle and at age 11 gave her first public recitals at the Theatre des Petits Enfants and at the Ball de League de la Jeunesse Feminine in Montreal. She went on to earn a diploma in cello performance from the

Académie de musique du Québec The Quebec Music Academy (''L'académie de musique du Québec'') is a nonprofit association based in Montreal, Canada, founded in 1868. It was built by order of Queen Victoria in 1870 and brought together the most renowned musicians of Quebec. The ...

in 1940 where she was a pupil of Jean-Baptiste Dubois. From 1938 to 1942, Forgues Halasz studied with

Emanuel Feuermann Emanuel Feuermann (November 22, 1902 – May 25, 1942) was an internationally celebrated cellist in the first half of the 20th century. Life Feuermann was born in 1902 in Kolomyja, Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Kolomyia, Ukraine) to ...

in both

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and California. She also studied with

Felix Salmond Felix Adrian Norman Salmond (19 November 188820 February 1952) was an English cellist and cello teacher who achieved success in the UK and the US. Early life and career Salmond was born to a family of professional musicians. His father Norman S ...

at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

. Part of the funding for her New York studies was made possible through her winning the 1940

Prix d'Europe The Prix d'Europe is a Canadian study grant that is funded by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec of the Government of Quebec. Established in 1911, the award has been distributed annually to a single individual through competition wi ...

prize.Interview with Suzette Forgues Halasz at cello.org
/ref> She returned to her native city in 1942 to become principal cellist of the

(then known as the Concert Symphonique of Montreal) under conductor

Wilfrid Pelletier Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier (sometimes spelled Wilfred), (20 June 1896 – 9 April 1982) was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and arts administrator. He was instrumental in establishing the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, serving ...

. She appeared as a soloist with the MSO and other Canadian orchestras during the 1940s. She also appeared as a soloist with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. In 1945, she met conductor Laszlo Halasz, founder of the

, while he was on a performance tour in Canada. The two began a romantic relationship and were soon married. She left her position at the MSO at that time and relocated to New York City where she became principal cellist of the NYCO orchestra; a position she held through 1952. During her tenure there she performed under famous conductors like

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

and Leonard Bernstein. After 1954, Forgues Halasz abandoned her career as a performer to focus on supporting her husband's career and raising their two children (George and Suzanne). She later taught for many years on the music faculty of

Queens College, City University of New York Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body ...

and privately out of her home in

Port Washington, New York Port Washington is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on the Cow Neck Peninsula in the Town of North Hempstead, in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. The hamlet is the anchor community of the Greater Port Wa ...

. She died in Port Washington at the age of 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forgues Halasz, Suzette 1918 births 2004 deaths Queens College, City University of New York faculty Canadian music educators Canadian classical cellists Musicians from Montreal People from Port Washington, New York Canadian women classical cellists 20th-century Canadian women musicians Women music educators 20th-century classical musicians Canadian expatriates in the United States 20th-century cellists