Víctor Alexander Marie Mirecki Larramat (21 July 18477 April 1921) was a Spanish

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 ...

and music teacher of Franco-Polish origin. He was born in

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of southwestern France. It is ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and died in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Introduction

Víctor Mirecki was one of the most versatile concert performers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a worldly man with a great array of social and cultural relations and was known as an ingenious cellist for his manner of interpreting music and for his work as a

chamber music 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 ...

ian and teacher. His work with Jesús de Monasterio in the Quartet Society of Madrid () greatly influenced the Spanish music of the era, promoting contemporary European chamber music and allowing the work of emerging geniuses such as

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was a Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20t ...

to spread. His dedication to teaching in the National School of Music, later known as the Madrid Royal Conservatory, was important in fostering the next generation of innovators in cello techniques. He, together with Belgian cellist Adrien-François Servais and French cellist Auguste Franchomme, founded the Spanish school of cellists. Its most notable later students include

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,Juan Ruiz Casaux (later Mirecki's son-in-law), and Augustín Rubio.

Childhood and youth in France

Son of the Polish Aleksander Mirecki and of Marie Zelinne Larramat, Víctor grew up in a notable musical environment. His father, marshal and hero of the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

against Russia, had taken refuge in France. After a stay in Paris, his father moved to

, where he taught violin. His three sons, Víctor, Maurice and Françoise, were born there, and they all eventually became dedicated to music. In 1857, at the age of ten, Víctor moved with his family to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, where his father taught the violin as a professor of the Conservatory. There he began his studies for a military career in the Lycée. In April 1862, the

Adrien-François Servais and the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist Henri Vieuxtemps were visiting Bordeaux and were sheltered in the Mirecki house. Impressed by these masters' performance and ability to interpret, the young Víctor, along with his brother Maurice, dedicated themselves to the cello for the next two years, under the supervision of their father. Víctor's natural talent was outstanding, and in March 1864, at 17 years of age, he played as a soloist in a public concert at the Bordeaux Conservatory in the presence of Servais. Víctor's success was such that Servais convinced Victor's father to allow him to abandon his military studies and dedicate himself completely to his instrument. At Bordeaux he obtained the first prize and the medal of honor of the Conservatory, and was also granted a scholarship to continue his studies in Paris. He began studying 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 ...

in 1865 and became Auguste Franchomme's star pupil. He obtained the award of honor of the Conservatoire on 6 August 1868, surpassing his classmate Jules Delsart, also a cellist and the future successor of the master Franchomme. During the course of that year, he visited Halle to pay his respects at the grave of his mentor Servais. With the help of his father and of his master, he also worked diligently in the orchestras of various Parisian theaters, meeting the great composers and musicians of the era who visited Paris; he developed an intimate friendship with

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 ...

Édouard Lalo Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer, violist, violinist, and academic teacher. His most celebrated piece is the '' Symphonie Espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra that re ...

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

and

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...

. He died in 1921, aged 73. His daughter Maria Theresa married his student, the cellist Juan Ruiz Casaux, and his son Alexander married Casaux's sister Carmen.

Bibliography

*“Víctor de Mirecki”, en ''La Ilustración Musical Hispano-americana'', año VIII, n.º 170, 15 de febrero de 1895. *AGUADO, Ester: ''La Sociedad de Cuartetos de Madrid (1863–1894). Estudio sobre el origen, organización, desarrollo del repertorio y su aceptación pública'', Madrid, 2001. *BELTRANDO-PATIER, Marie-Claire: ''Historia de la música. La música occidental desde la Edad Media hasta nuestros días,'' Espasa-Calpe, Madrid, 1996, p. 702 *HILL, W. Henry; HILL, Arthur F. y HILL, Alfred E.: ''Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644–1737),'' Londres, 1902. *PINO, Rafael del: “Víctor de Mirecki: de los salones de París al Palacio Real”, en ''La Opinión de Granada'', 2 de abril de 2006, p. 36. *SOBRINO, Ramón: “Víctor Mirecki Larramal (sic)” en CASARES, Emilio (dir. y coord.), ''Diccionario de la música española e hispanoamericana'', vol. VII, p. 613. Sociedad General de Autores y Editores. Madrid, 1999-2002. *PINO, Rafael del: “Víctor de Mirecki: de los salones de París al Palacio Real”, en ''La Opinión de Granada'', 2 de abril de 2006, p. 36. *VILLAR, Rogelio: ''La música y los músicos españoles contemporáneos'', Madrid, s.n. *PIERRE, Constant. ''Le conservatoire national de musique et de déclamation. Documents historiques et administratifs''. Paris, Imprimerie nationale, 1900. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mirecki Larramat, Victor People from Tarbes 1847 births 1921 deaths Spanish classical cellists French classical cellists French music educators Academic staff of the Madrid Royal Conservatory Conservatoire de Bordeaux alumni