Description

HUGO BECKER (JEAN OTTO ERIC HUGO BECKER, STRASBOURG, 13 FEBRUARY, 1863 – GRÜNWALD, 30 JULY, 1941)

 

 

 

 

Hugo Becker was a prominent German cellist, cello teacher, and composer. He studied at a young age with Alfredo Piatti, and later Friedrich Grützmacher in Dresden.

He was born in 1863 in Strasbourg (then part of France, but transferred to the German Empire in 1871); his father Jean Becker was a famous violinist. His father tried teaching him violin at the age of six, but the young Becker loved cello, and switched over at the age of nine. By age fifteen he was touring with a string quartet made up of him, his father, sister, and brother. He had also become a leading cellist in the court orchestra in Mannheim.

In 1884, Becker was appointed solo cellist with the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra, and the following year became the leading cello teacher at the Frankfurt Hoch Conservatory. From 1909 to 1929, he was professor of cello at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin; among his students was George Georgescu, who would replace him as cellist in the Marteau Quartet before forsaking the cello for the conductor’s podium on account of a hand injury. Later, Georgescu would remark, “All I know, I learned from Hugo Becker.”

During this time Becker also toured extensively and played chamber music with Eugène Ysaÿe and Ferruccio Busoni in a piano trio., and later with Artur Schnabel and Carl Flesch as the third Schnabel Trio between 1914 and 1921.

He died on 30 July 1941.

 

 

 

JULIUS KLENGEL (LEIPZIG, KINGDOM OF SAXONY, 24 SEPTEMBER, 1859 – LEIPZIG, GERMANY, 27 OCTOBER, 1933)

 

 

 

 

Julius Klengel was a German cellist who is most famous for his études and solo pieces written for the instrument. He was the brother of Paul Klengel. A member of the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig at fifteen, he toured extensively throughout Europe as cellist and soloist of the Gewandhaus Quartet. His pupils include Guilhermina Suggia, Emanuel Feuermann, Gregor Piatigorsky and Alexandre Barjansky.

Klengel was born in Leipzig, and studied with Emil Hegar in his youth. His father was a lawyer and an amateur musician, and was friend of Mendelssohn. After his 15th birthday, Klengel joined the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra where Klengel played first cello, and began touring in Europe and Russia. Klengel also became a soloist at that point, frequently giving solo performances.

Klengel rose to become principal cellist of the orchestra, aged 22, in 1881. There he remained for over four decades: to celebrate his fifty years of service, Wilhelm Furtwängler conducted a jubilee concert, in which Klengel played the cello part in a double concerto he composed for the occasion. During that time period, Klengel became professor at the Leipzig Conservatory, where he was briefly a member of Adolph Brodsky’s string quartet, and began composing. He ultimately composed hundreds of pieces for the cello, including four cello concertos, two double cello concertos, cello quartets, a cello sonata, as well as numerous caprices, etudes and other technical pieces. Of his music, the two volumes of etudes (“Technical Studies”) for cello remain in the repertory; three concertos were recorded in 2000 by Christoph Richter and NDR Radiophilharmonie under Bjarte Engeset.

His students included Guilhermina Suggia, Hideo Saito, Emanuel Feuermann, Paul Grümmer, William Pleeth, and Gregor Piatigorsky. He died in October 1933 in his hometown of Leipzig.

 

 

 

JOSEPH MELZER (BÜRGSTEIN, GERMANY, 1859 – ?)

 

 

 

 

He was principal cellist in the German Opera Orchestra of Budapest, principal celist in Kur-Orchestra of Baden-Baden, principal cellist in Breslau Orchestral Union.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Hugo Becker Menuett (Becker) Gramophone 047859 2845f 22- 2-09

2. Julius Klengel 6 Salon-Stücke, Book 2 No. 6, Tarantelle (Cossmann) Polydor 24546 B
3. Julius Klengel Adagio (Arr. for Cello & Piano) (Tartini) E. Steinberger (piano) Decca DE.7062
4. Julius Klengel Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012IV. Sarabande (Bach) E. Steinberger (piano) Polydor 10595-A
5. Julius Klengel Mazurka in G Minor, Op. 11 No. 3 (Popper) Polydor 24546 A
6. Julius Klengel Leipzig Gewandhaus Quartet Death andthe Maiden (Schubert) 2nd Mvt. Edgar Wollgandt (violin), Karl Wolschke (violin2); Carl Herrmann (viola) Polydor 40025 1184, 1185

7. Josef Melzer Wittenberg Quartet Quartet in A Op. 18 No. 5 (Beethoven) Menuetto with Alfred Wittenberg (violin), Hermann Behr (violin) and Paul Hermann (viola) Anker Elite E 9845 06273
8. Josef Melzer Wittenberg Quartet Quartet in G K387 (Mozart) Molto allegro with Alfred Wittenberg (violin), Hermann Behr (violin) and Paul Hermann (viola) Anker Elite E 9845 06275
9. Josef Melzer Wittenberg Quartet String Quartet in Amajor Op. 18 No. 5 (Beethoven) Andante cantabile with Alfred Wittenberg (violin), Hermann Behr (violin) and Paul Hermann (viola) Anker E 9894-I 06724
10. Josef Melzer Wittenberg Quartet String Quartet in Eflat major Op. 12 (Mendelssohn) Canzonetta with Alfred Wittenberg (violin), HermannBehr (violin) and Paul Hermann (viola) Anker E 9894-II 06727