Auguste-Joseph Franchomme (10 April 180821 January 1884) was a French cellist and composer. In addition to his work in Paris, he collaborated with Spanish cellist

Víctor Mirecki Larramat Víctor Alexander Marie Mirecki Larramat (21 July 18477 April 1921) was a Spanish cellist and music teacher of Franco-Polish origin. He was born in Tarbes, France and died in Madrid, Spain. Introduction Víctor Mirecki was one of the most versat ...

and Belgian cellist

Adrien-François Servais Adrien-François Servais (6 June 180726 November 1866) was one of the most influential cellists of the nineteenth century. He was born and died in what is now Halle, Belgium. He is one of the founders of the Modern Cellistic Schools of Paris and ...

in founding what is considered the Spanish school of cellists, influencing future generations there. For his many contributions to music, he was decorated with the French

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1884.Culture.gouv.fr
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Life and career

Born in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, Franchomme studied at the local conservatoire with M. Mas and Pierre Baumann. He moved to continue his education with Jean-Henri Levasseur and Louis-Pierre Norblin at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Ja ...

, where he won his first prize only after one year. Franchomme began his career playing with various orchestras and was appointed solo cello at

Sainte-Chapelle The Sainte-Chapelle (; ) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France. Construction b ...

in 1828. Along with violinist

Jean-Delphin Alard Jean-Delphin Alard (8 March 181522 February 1888) was a French violinist, composer, and teacher. He was the son-in-law of Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, and had Pablo de Sarasate amongst his students. Biography Alard was born in Bayonne, the son of an ...

, teacher of

Pablo de Sarasate Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (; 10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908), commonly known as Pablo de Sarasate, was a Spanish violinist, composer and Conducting, conductor of the Romantic music, Romantic period. His best known work ...

, and pianist

Charles Hallé Sir Charles Hallé (born Karl Halle; 11 April 181925 October 1895) was a Prussian and British pianist and conductor. In 1858, he founded the Hallé Orchestra. Life Charles Frederick Hallé was born Carl Friederich Halle on 10 April 1819 in H ...

, creator of the Hallé Orchestra, he was a founding member of the Alard Quartet. The Quartet was rare for a

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

of its time because it consisted of professional musicians. Franchomme also belonged to the founding ranks of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. Franchomme forged close friendships with

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

, when the latter visited Paris in 1831, and with

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

as well as

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

. In 1833, Chopin and Franchomme collaborated to write a Grand Duo concertant for piano and cello, based on themes from

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...

's opera ''

Robert le diable ''Robert le diable'' (''Robert the Devil'') is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831, to a libretto written in French by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. ''Robert le diable'' is regarded as one of the first ...

''. Franchomme also rewrote the cello parts for Chopin's '' Polonaise Brillante'', Op. 3, and was the dedicatee of Chopin's Cello Sonata, Op. 65. With the exception of a trip to England in 1856, Franchomme hardly left Paris, where he became a central figure of the city's musical life. In 1843, he acquired the '' Duport Stradivarius'' from the son of

Jean-Louis Duport Jean-Louis Duport (4 October 17497 September 1819), sometimes known as Duport the Younger to distinguish him from his older brother (and teacher) Jean-Pierre Duport, Jean-Pierre (1741-1818), was a cello, cellist, pedagogue, and composer. He is pe ...

for the then-record sum of 22,000

French franc The franc (; , ; currency sign, sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amoun ...

s. He also owned the De Munck Stradivarius of 1730. Franchomme succeeded Norblin as the head professor of cello at the Paris Conservatory in 1846, and his class included

Jules Delsart Jules Delsart (24 November 1844 – 3 July 1900) was a French cellist and teacher. He is best known for his arrangement for cello and piano of César Franck's Violin Sonata in A major. Musicologist Lynda MacGregor described Delsart as "one of th ...

(who succeeded his master),

Louis Hegyesi Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS Louis, HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy Se ...

, and Ernest Gillet. He died in his sleep of heart attack on 21 January 1884 at the age of 75, four days after he received the

Legacy

Franchomme was among the most celebrated cellists of his time and contributed to the refinement of the

bowing Bowing (also called stooping) is the act of lowering the torso and Human head, head as a social gesture in direction to another person or symbol. It is most prominent in Asian cultures but it is also typical of nobility and aristocracy in many E ...

technique—elegant, sweet, and light—which distinguished the French school developed by Jean-Pierre and

. His left hand was renowned for its deft, precise, and expressive powers of execution. On 3 May 1856, the Weekly Chronicle and Register noted that he "carefully abstains from all abuse of the tremolo and of the exaggerated expression which are the distinguishing features in most modern violoncello playing". As a composer, Franchomme published some fifty-five works for cello, including the Twelve Caprices, Op. 7, and the Twelve

Étude An étude (; ) or study is an instrumental musical composition, designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidly growing popu ...

s, with optional second cello, Op. 35; one

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. 33; as well as numerous other pieces with piano, orchestral, or chamber accompaniment.

Recordings

The Complete Caprices and Études (Clay Ruede, cello), Koch International 3-7226 (1994) The Franchomme Project (Louise Dubin et al, cello), Delos International DE3469 (2015)

References

External links

''400 lettres de musiciens au Musée royal de Mariemont''
* * ttp://louise-dubin.com/Franchomme Research project on Franchomme by cellist Louise Dubinbr>''Blog Days of Auguste'' Franchomme blogAuguste Franchomme, Selected Works for Cello and Piano, Manuscript, 2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franchomme, Auguste 1808 births 1884 deaths Musicians from Lille French classical cellists French male classical composers Knights of the Legion of Honour French Romantic composers 19th-century French classical composers Conservatoire de Paris alumni Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery 19th-century French male musicians 20th-century French cellists