Gérard Hekking (24 August 1879 – 5 June 1942) was a French

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

. Born in Nancy, "He studied cello, first in The Hague with Professor Boumann, then in Paris in Delsart's class. Unanimously awarded first prize in 1898, he travelled as a concert performer, winning acclaim throughout Europe. Since 1905, Gérard Hekking has been a professor at the Royal Conservatory in Amsterdam, but has not given up his brilliant career as a virtuoso." He served as first cellist of the

Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, established in 1888 at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). It is considered one of the world's leading orchestras. It was known as the Concertgebouw Orchestra u ...

from 1903 until 1914. In 1912 Alphons Diepenbrock composed his Berceuse (''Le Seigneur a dit à son enfant'') for him and his wife, a soprano. Among the works premiered by Hekking were Fauré's

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

Cello Sonatas, in 1917 and 1921 respectively. Hekking composed some works, including ''Villageoise, Joujou mécanique, Danse pour les Sakharoff'' and ''Danse campagnarde'', all for cello and piano. From 1927 until his death Hekking taught cello at the

Paris Conservatoire 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 ...

. Among his students were

Pierre Fournier Pierre Léon Marie Fournier (24 June 19068 January 1986) was a French cellist who was called the "aristocrat of cellists" on account of his elegant musicianship and majestic sound. Biography Pierre Fournier was born in Paris, the son of a F ...

Maurice Gendron Maurice Gendron (26 December 1920, near Nice20 August 1990, Grez-sur-Loing) was a French cello, cellist, conductor and teacher. He is widely considered one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century. He was an Officer of the Legion of Honor and a ...

and

Paul Tortelier Paul Tortelier (21 March 1914 – 18 December 1990) was a French cellist and composer. After an outstanding student career at the Conservatoire de Paris he played in orchestras in France and the US before the Second World War. After the war he bec ...

."Gérard Hekking: search"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, retrieved 2 March 2018 Hekking died in Paris in 1942, aged 62. He was the cousin of

André Hekking André Hekking (20 July 186614 December 1925) was a French cellist. Born in Bordeaux, he studied with Charles Auguste de Bériot, touring Spain at fifteen. In 1909, he settled in Paris to become a teacher of the cello, having in the meantime gai ...

and the nephew of

Anton Hekking Johannes Francis Anton Hekking (7 September 1856 – 18 November 1935) was a Netherlands-born cellist and teacher. Education Anton Hekking was born in The Hague on 7 September 1856, to a musical family that also produced other notable cellists, ...

, both cellists.

Notes

References

* * 1879 births 1942 deaths French classical cellists Musicians from Nancy, France Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Players of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra {{Cellist-stub