Editing Paul Tortelier

{{Short description|French cellist and composer}}
[[File:Tortelier Harcourt 1948 2.jpg|alt=White man playing the cello, seen semi-profile|thumb|Tortelier in 1948]]
'''Paul Tortelier''' (21 March 1914 – 18 December 1990) was a French [[cello|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 became a well-known soloist, playing in countries round the globe. He taught at [[music schools]] in France, Germany and China, and gave televised masterclasses in England. He was particularly associated with the solo part in [[Richard Strauss]]'s ''[[Don Quixote (Strauss)|Don Quixote]]'', cello concertos by [[Edward Elgar|Elgar]] and others, and [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]]'s [[Cello Suites (Bach)|Cello Suites]].

==Life and work==
===Early years===
Tortelier was born in Paris, the son of Joseph Tortelier and his wife Marguerite, ''née'' Boura. Joseph, who came from a family with [[Bretons|Breton]] roots, was a ''menuisier-ébéniste'' – a carpenter-cabinet-maker – in [[Montmartre]].<ref>Tortelier and Blum, pp. 2–3</ref> Tortelier's mother had a particular love of the cello and he began to play the instrument when he was six.<ref>Tortelier and Blum, p. 130</ref><ref name=times>Obituary, ''The Times'', 19 December 1990, p. 14</ref> His general education was at the École Lucien Lafflessele, and from the age of nine he studied the cello with [[Louis Feuillard]].<ref>Tortelier and Blum, pp. 32 and 76</ref>

At the age of 12 Tortelier entered the [[Conservatoire de Paris]], where he studied the cello with [[Gérard Hekking]]. While a student he earned an income in a trio playing accompaniments to silent films.<ref name=dt>Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 19 December 1990, p. 19</ref> He won the conservatoire's first prize when he was 16, playing the [[Cello Concerto (Elgar)|Elgar Cello Concerto]],<ref name=grove>[[Noël Goodwin|Goodwin, Noël]]. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000028193 "Tortelier, Paul"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, 2001 {{subscription required}}</ref> and then he studied [[harmony]] and composition under [[Jean Gallon]].<ref>Tortelier and Blum, p. 49</ref> He made his professional début in 1931 at the age of 17, as soloist in [[Édouard Lalo|Lalo's]] [[Cello Concerto (Lalo)|Cello Concerto]] with the [[Orchestre Lamoureux]].<ref name=grove/>

In 1935 Tortelier joined the [[Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra]] as first cellist and played with them until 1937. He gave performances under [[Bruno Walter]] and [[Arturo Toscanini]],<ref>Tortelier and Blum, p. 56</ref> and played the solo part in [[Richard Strauss]]'s ''[[Don Quixote (Strauss)|Don Quixote]]'' conducted by the composer.<ref name=mart>Martland, p. 292</ref>

In 1937 Tortelier accepted an invitation from [[Serge Koussevitzky]] to join the [[Boston Symphony Orchestra]]. He remained until the 1939–40 season. He was in Paris during the [[Second World War]], teaching at the Conservatoire. He had a short-lived marriage to Madeleine Gaston, which ended in divorce in 1944.<ref name=dt/> After the war he was principal cellist of the [[Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire]] in 1946–47. In 1946 he married a cello pupil, Maud Monique Martin, with whom he had three children, all of whom became musicians: [[Yan Pascal Tortelier|Yan Pascal]], a violinist and subsequently a conductor; Maria de la Pau, a pianist; and Pomona, a cellist.<ref name=grove/>

===International solo career===
In 1947 Tortelier's international career as a soloist began in Berlin and Amsterdam.<ref name=grove/> After a concert in the latter city, conducted by [[Thomas Beecham|Sir Thomas Beecham]], at which Tortelier again played the solo part in ''Don Quixote'', Beecham invited him to reprise his performance with the [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]] (RPO) at a festival of Strauss's music in London, in the presence of the composer.<ref>"Dr Strauss in London", ''The Times'', 6 October 1947, p. 8</ref> Within days Tortelier gave a recital with [[Gerald Moore]] at the [[Wigmore Hall]] and recorded the Strauss piece with Beecham and the RPO.<ref name=dt/> After the recital, the music critic of ''[[The Times]]'' wrote that Tortelier showed himself to be "an artist of great distinction, whose playing combined technical mastery with fine musicianship throughout a programme including works by [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]], [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]], [[Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]], [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]], and virtuoso show-pieces".<ref name=wig>"Recitals of the Week", ''The Times'', 13 October 1947, p. 7</ref> He added:
{{blockindent|By virtue of phrasing and variety of tone M. Tortelier made unaccompanied Bach come alive as few cellists succeed in doing, and his animated interpretation of Debussy's frequently abused [[Six sonatas for various instruments#Sonata for cello and piano|sonata]] brought home its real significance in a way that will not quickly be forgotten.<ref name=wig/>|}}
During his subsequent career Tortelier played throughout Europe, the Americas, Australia, North Africa, Israel, the USSR and Japan, but Britain remained central to his career, and most of his recordings over the next four decades were made there. He found the English baffling in their undemonstrative feelings, but he was fond of them: "I cannot speak of the English without emotion. I owe them everything in terms of my career".<ref name=saraband/> He was less at home with Americans, whom he found friendly but lacking in real love.<ref name=saraband/>

In 1950 Tortelier was asked by [[Pablo Casals]] to play as the principal cellist in the Prades Festival Orchestra; out of respect for Casals, Tortelier agreed.{{refn|Other internationally famous soloists who played in Casals's orchestra included [[Isaac Stern]] and [[William Primrose]].<ref>Sackville-West and Shawe-Taylor, p. 475</ref>|group=n}} He later said, "I have played for Toscanini and [[Herbert von Karajan|Karajan]], but I never felt with any conductor what I felt with Casals".<ref name=saraband>"Saraband", ''The Economist'', 25 August 1990, p. 82</ref> More than any other cellist it was Casals who influenced him the most. Tortelier said that there was a spiritual quality in the older man's playing: "one never thought that Casals was playing the cello; he was playing music".<ref name=w97/> Nonetheless, Tortelier gained technical insights from Casals, particularly the latter's flexible use of the left hand on the fingerboard and his assertive phrasing and articulation.<ref name=w97>Wilson, p. 97</ref> He also absorbed Casals's approach to intonation, subtly sharpening or flattening the pitch of notes for the best harmonic effect.<ref name=w97/> Casals said of Tortelier's mastery of the cello, "When you play you make it talk".<ref name=mart/>

Although he was not Jewish (he was an agnostic [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]]) Tortelier was inspired by the ideals of the founders of the [[Israeli Declaration of Independence|newly formed state of Israel]] in 1948, and in 1955–56 he lived with his wife and children in the [[kibbutz]] [[Ma'abarot, Israel|Ma'abarot]], near [[Haifa]].<ref>Wilson, p. 98</ref> During this period he made his début as a conductor, with the [[Israel Philharmonic]].<ref name=who>[https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-169843 "Tortelier, Paul, (21 March 1914–18 Dec. 1990), cellist, composer, conductor"], ''Who's Who & Who Was Who'', Oxford University Press, 2022 {{subscription required}}</ref>

Tortelier's international career continued into his seventies. At a concert to mark his 75th birthday he was joined by colleagues including his friend [[Mstislav Rostropovich]], who conducted the Saint-Saëns [[Cello Concerto No. 1 (Saint-Saëns)|A-minor concerto]] with Tortelier as soloist and later in the concert joined him as fellow soloist in a composition of Tortelier's own, the "Valse, alla Maud".<ref>Pettitt, Stephen. "Celebration in form", ''The Times'', 24 May 1989, p. 16</ref>

Tortelier died of a heart attack on 18 December 1990 at the age of 76 in the [[domaine of Villarceaux]], [[Yvelines]], near Paris.<ref name=grove/> At a concert the following June to celebrate his life and work, [[Yehudi Menuhin]], [[Charles Groves|Sir Charles Groves]] and Yan-Pascal Tortelier conducted, and the cellists included Maud Martin Tortelier, [[János Starker]] and two of Tortelier's former students, [[Arto Noras]] and Raphael Sommer.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/965698 "Barbican Hall"], ''The Musical Times'', May 1991, p. 3 {{subscription required}}</ref>

==Composer, teacher and innovator==
[[File:Tortelier Harcourt 1948.jpg|thumb|Tortelier by the [[Studio Harcourt]], 1948|alt= clean-shaven, slim white man with aquiline features, seen profile playing the cello]]

Tortelier thought it important for executant musicians to write music, because he felt it enabled him to approach even repertory works as, to some extent, an act of re-creation:<ref name=grove/><ref name=rc>Coleman, Richard. "Paul Tortelier", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 2 August 1980, p. 2</ref>
{{blockindent|When I ask famous artists why they don't compose they invariably say they don't have the talent. But that is something that develops. They think the first piece they write should be their masterpiece. When it isn't – and it never is – they stop trying".<ref name=rc/>|}}
His compositions include a [[concerto]] for two cellos and orchestra (1950), a solo cello [[suite (music)|suite]] in D, and two [[sonata]]s for cello and piano. He wrote a set of [[variation (music)|variations]] for cello and orchestra (''May Music Save Peace''). He also wrote a [[symphony]], the ''Israel Symphony''. Several of his compositions were included at a special concert to mark his 75th birthday at the [[Royal Festival Hall]] in 1989, in which his wife and son joined in his celebrations.<ref name=times/> He twice edited the [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]] [[Cello Suites (Bach)|Cello Suites]]; his first version was published by Augener in 1961,<ref>{{oclc| 475517393}}</ref> and the second by Galliard in 1966.<ref>{{oclc|1253928304}}</ref>{{refn|Tortelier said, "Bach in German means brook – this brook runs to the river and that river runs to the sea. It's a progression which begins delicately and poetically. If you add too much expression with excessive Romanticism, the water stops flowing. ... If you want to do an abstract Bach ... then the water turns cold. That's no longer a Bach who glorifies God and nature, but one who glorifies the metronome."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122853414658284999|title=A 'Testament to Bach'|last=Ivry|first=Benjamin|author-link=Benjamin Ivry|date=7 December 2008|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref>|group=n}}

Tortelier's students included Noras, Sommer, [[Jacqueline du Pré]], [[Anne Gastinel]] and [[Nathan Waks]].<ref name=times/><ref name=grove/> He was a professor at the [[Conservatoire de Paris]] (1956–69), the [[Folkwang Hochschule]] in Essen, Germany (1969–1975), and the [[Conservatory of Nice|Conservatoire Pierre Cochereau, Nice]] (1978–80). He was also an honorary professor at the Central Conservatoire in Beijing.<ref name=grove/> In the 1960s and 1970s he gave a series of [[master class]]es which were recorded and broadcast on TV by the [[BBC]]. ''The Times'' said of them, "he was the first musician to popularise the master class on BBC television. With his deep-set, expressive eyes, his unruly mop of white hair and broken but articulate English he captivated his audience as much as his pupils". His physical resemblance to the traditional drawings of Cervantes's Don Quixote was remarked on.<ref name=times/>

Pursuing his encouragement of rising talent, Tortelier was artistic director and panel chairman for Britain's first major cello competition, held in [[Bristol]] in 1975. 20 competitors from 12 countries took part, and the gala concert featured the premiere of Tortelier's own Concerto for Two Cellos, performed by the composer and his wife, with their son conducting.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/960689 "Reports – Bristol"], ''The Musical Times'', March 1976, p. 248 {{subscription required}}</ref>

If Tortelier had to play or tune a violin he would do so holding it vertically, like a miniature cello. After he tuned his son's violin thus on one occasion, the young Yan Pascal commented that it did not sound as good when tuned upright as when tuned in its normal horizontal position.<ref>Tortelier and Blum, p. 134</ref> Tortelier concurred, and further consideration of the point led him to develop a new kind of [[endpin]], hinged to bring the cello down from nearly vertical to a slope, so that the instrument vibrates more freely, giving greater projection of its sound.<ref name=w99>Wilson, p. 99</ref> This suited some cellists more than others,<ref name=w99/> and according to ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'' is "not widely used".<ref>Russell, Tilden A. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000008788 "Endpin (tailpin)"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, 2001 {{subscription required}}</ref>

==Honours==
[[File:Plaque Place Paul Tortelier - Paris XVII (FR75) - 2021-08-20 - 1.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Street sign in Paris commemorating Tortelier|Plaque in the [[17th arrondissement of Paris]]]]
Tortelier was an honorary member of the [[Royal Academy of Music]] in London, held honorary degrees from three English universities, and was a Commander of the [[Order of the Lion of Finland]].<ref name=who/> A street in the Batignolles-Monceau, the [[17th arrondissement of Paris]], is named in his honour.

==Recordings==
Tortelier's extensive discography includes two sets of the [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]] [[Cello Suites (Bach)|Cello Suites]], the first made in Paris in 1960 and the second in London in 1982. He recorded ''Don Quixote'' twice: first with Beecham and the RPO in 1947 and then in 1973 with [[Rudolf Kempe]] and the [[Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden|Staatskapelle Dresden]]. ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'' magazine said of the latter that despite the merits of rival recordings, "for sheer charm and elegance" this version won the palm.<ref>[https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/r-strauss-don-quixote-0 Review], ''Gramophone'', March 1989</ref> Tortelier made three studio recordings of the Elgar concerto – with [[Malcolm Sargent|Sir Malcolm Sargent]] and the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]] in 1953,<ref name="oclc| 977899818">{{oclc| 977899818}}</ref> [[Adrian Boult|Sir Adrian Boult]] and the [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]] in 1972,<ref name="oclc| 977899818"/> and Groves and the RPO in 1988.<ref>{{oclc|1044305722}}</ref> The BBC issued a recording of a 1972 concert performance of the concerto with Boult and the BBC Symphony, on a CD that also includes a performance of the [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]] [[Double Concerto (Brahms)|Double Concerto]] with the Torteliers ''père et fils'' as soloists.<ref>{{oclc| 893577293}}</ref> His other recordings include concertos by [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]], [[Saint-Saëns]], [[Antonin Dvořák|Dvořák]] and [[William Walton|Walton]], Tchaikovsky's [[Variations on a Rococo Theme]], Beethoven's complete works for cello and piano with [[Éric Heidsieck]] and the cello sonatas of Debussy and [[Gabriel Fauré|Fauré]] with [[Jean Hubeau]].<ref name=mart/> With Menuhin he recorded the double concertos of Brahms and [[Frederick Delius|Delius]].<ref name=mart/>

==Notes, references and sources==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=n}}

===References===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{cite book | last = Martland | first =Peter | title = Since Records Began: EMI, the first 100 years | date = 1997 | location= London | publisher = Batsford | isbn = 978-0-7134-6207-4 }} 
*{{cite book | last=Sackville-West| first=Edward| author-link=Edward Sackville-West, 5th Baron Sackville|author2=[[Desmond Shawe-Taylor (music critic)|Shawe-Taylor, Desmond]] | title=The Record Guide| location=London| publisher=Collins| year=1955 | oclc=474839729 }}
*{{cite book | last = Tortelier | first = Paul |author2= David Blum | title= Paul Tortelier: A Self-Portrait in Conversation with David Blum. | date =1984 | location= London | publisher= Heinemann | isbn = 978-0-434-78860-6 }}  
*{{cite book | last = Wilson | first = Elizabeth | title = Jacqueline du Pré | date = 1998 | location = London | publisher = Weidenfeld & Nicolson | isbn = 978-0-297-81570-9 }}

==External links==
*{{IMSLP|author=Tortelier, Paul|descr=Free recordings}}
*[http://www.cellist.nl/database/showcellist.asp?id=61 cellist.nl: Paul Tortelier biography, video, list of teachers and pupils] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231259/http://www.cellist.nl/database/showcellist.asp?id=61 |date=2016-03-03 }}
*[http://www.cello.org/cnc/tortel.htm cello.org: Paul Tortelier biography]

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[[Category:1914 births]]
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[[Category:French male composers]]
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[[Category:Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris]]
[[Category:20th-century French composers]]
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[[Category:20th-century French cellists]]
[[Category:Players of the Boston Symphony Orchestra]]