Françoise Groben (4 December 1965 – 28 May 2011) was a

Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. The language is standardized and officiall ...

cellist who performed widely and won several awards. She made recordings for radio, television and CDs.

Biography

Born on 4 December 1965 in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

, Groben first studied the cello with Georges Mallach at the

Conservatoire de Luxembourg The Conservatoire de Luxembourg is a music school in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. The conservatoire was founded in 1906, and teaches dance, music and drama to approximately 3,800 students. It is housed in a purpose-built building op ...

. She continued with Boris Pergamenschikow at the Musikhochschule, Cologne, and subsequently with

William Pleeth William Pleeth OBE (12 January 1916 – 6 April 1999) was a well-known British cellist and an eminent teacher, who became widely known as the teacher of Jacqueline du Pré. Biography Early years William Pleeth was born in London. His pa ...

Daniil Shafran Daniil Borisovich Shafran (, January 13, 1923February 7, 1997) was a Soviet Russian cellist. Biography Early years Daniil Shafran was born in Petrograd (later Leningrad, then Saint Petersburg) in 1923 to a Jewish family. Even from before his birt ...

, as well as with members of the

Amadeus Quartet The Amadeus Quartet was a string quartet founded in 1947 and disbanded in 1987, having retained its founding members throughout its history. Noted for its smooth, sophisticated style, its seamless ensemble playing, and its sensitive interpretat ...

. In 1990 she won 2nd prize in the

International Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

in Moscow."Françoise Groben, Cello"
, ''Cecilia-cmc-de''. Retrieved 28 December 2010. She played with a number of prestigious orchestras including the

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (, BRSO) is a German radio orchestra. Based in Munich, Germany, it is one of the city's four orchestras. The BRSO is one of two full-size symphony orchestras operated under the auspices of Bayerischer Rundf ...

, the

NHK Symphony Orchestra The is a Japanese broadcast orchestra based in Tokyo. The orchestra gives concerts in several venues, including the NHK Hall, Suntory Hall, and the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. History The orchestra was founded as the ''New Symphony Orchestr ...

Leningrad Philharmonic The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (, ''Symphonic Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia'') is a symphony orchestra based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Their home venue is the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. History The roots of t ...

Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (Hebrew: התזמורת הסימפונית ירושלים, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Simfonit Yerushalayim'') is a major orchestra of Israel. Since the 1980s, the JSO has been based in the Henry Crown Symphony Hall, part o ...

, and the Russian State Orchestra and participated in many music festivals around the globe. In 1998, she became the cellist in the Zehetmair Quartet founded by

Thomas Zehetmair Thomas Zehetmair (born 23 November 1961) is an Austrian violinist and conductor. Biography Zehetmair was born in Salzburg, and studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum, where both of his parents taught. His festival debut was at age 16. He was in ...

, playing in Lisbon, Munich, Leipzig, Cologne, Salzburg, Paris, Brussels, Vienna and Berlin as well as on tour in the United States, Australia and the Far East. Thanks to the support of Banque Générale de Luxembourg, she played a

Matteo Goffriller Matteo Goffriller (1659–1742) was a Venetian luthier, particularly noted for the quality of his cellos. He was active between 1685–1735 and was the founder of the " Venetian School" of luthiers, during a time when Venice was one of the most i ...

cello from 1695. Françoise Groben died on 28 May 2011 when she was only 45 years old.Thierry Hick, "Décès de la violoncelliste luxembourgeoise Françoise Groben"
''Luxemburger Wort'', 2 June 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2011.

Discography

*Corelli, Haydn, Mozart, Solistes Européens Luxembourg with Françoise Groben (SEL Classics) *Luigi Boccherini: Concertos pour violoncelle, Solistes Européens Luxembourg a Françoise Groben (SEL Classics) *Music Made in Luxembourg, Solistes Européens Luxembourg with Françoise Groben and others. (SEL Classics) *String Quartets Nos. 1 & 3 by Robert Schumann with the Zehetmair Quartet ECM Record (Universal) (11 February 2003) *Works for Chamber Ensemble by Francis Poulenc Vol. 2 played by Alexandre Tharaud, Françoise Groben and others. Naxos (3 April 2000) *Busoni-Edition (Chamber Music) by Ferruccio Busoni played by Rainer Wehle, Françoise Groben and others. Capriccio (DELTA MUSIC) (27 December 2000) *Brahms : Intégrale des Trios avec piano (avec Graf Mourja, violon & Peter Laul, piano)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groben, Francoise 21st-century Luxembourgian musicians 1965 births 2011 deaths Luxembourgian cellists Musicians from Luxembourg City Women classical cellists 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century cellists