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The famous French cellist, Pierre Léon Marie Fournier, was the son of a French Army general. His mother taught him to play the piano, but he had a mild case of polio as a child (at age 9) and lost dexterity in his feet and legs. Having difficulties with the piano pedals, he turned to the cello. He received early training from Odette Krettly, and from 1918 studied with André Hekking Paris Conservatory and later with Paul Bazelaire. He graduated from the Paris Conservatory at 17, in 1923. He also studied at the École Normale de Musique. He was hailed as "the cellist of the future" and won praise for his virtuosity and bowing technique. In the period 1925-1929 he was a member of the Krettly Quartet, led by Odette's brother Robert Krettly.
Pierre Fournier became well known when he played with the Concerts Colonne Orchestra in 1925. He began touring all over Europe, both as a soloist with orchestras and as a chamber music artist. At various stages he played with many of the most highly acclaimed, prestigious musicians of his time, and recorded the complete chamber music of Johannes Brahms and Schubert for the BBC on acetates. However, these deteriorated before the recordings could be transferred to a more durable medium. Among his chamber music partners were: pianists Wilhelm Backhaus, Monique Duphil, Reine Gianoli, Wilhelm Kempff, Vlado Perlemuter, Arthur Rubinstein, Artur Schnabel, Solomon; harpsichordists Michel Kiener, Zuzana Ruzickova; violinists Zino Francescatti, Henryk Szeryng. He is also praised for his recordings of the J.S. Bach Cello Suites (BWV 1007-1012) (Beethoven-Saal, Hannover, December 1960), which are regarded even now as as one of the best versions ever made. His other discs include LP's of L.v. Beethoven's cello sonatas and Edward Elgar's Edward Elgar; these have long since been available on CD. His repertoire was comprehensive, ranging from J.S. Bach to contermporary music. Several composers wrote works for him. He received the dedication of both Bohuslav Martinů's Cello Concerto No. 1 (1930, revised 1939, 1955) and Francis Poulenc's Cello Sonata (1948), and gave also first performances of works by Albert Roussel and Martin.
Fournier was a teacher at the École Normale de Musique in Paris (from 1937) and the Paris Conservatoire (1941-1949).
Pierre Fournier made his first tour of the USA in 1948 and played to great acclaim in New York and Boston. His performance in America became an embarrassment when it was revealed in 1949 that Fournier had collaborated with the Nazis during the occupation of France. He was found to have performed 82 times on "Radio-Paris" - a German station - for which he had been paid a total of 192,400 francs. In France, the "National Purging Committee's Professional Branch for Dramatic and Lyric Artists and Performing Musicians" had found him guilty of collaboration, and had banned him from performing for a period of six months. In the 1950's he toured South America, often accompanied by Alfredo Rossi, a personal friend and former colleague during his early days in Italy and Spain.
Pierre Fournier was called the "aristocrat of cellists," on account of his elegant musicianship and majestic sound. He was made a Chevallier of the Legion of Honour in 1953, and was promoted to Officier in 1963.
In 1970, Pierre Fournier settled in Switzerland, although he never relinquished his French citizenship. . He continued performing in public until two years before his death at the age of 79. Until the end of his life, he taught privately and gave master-classes at his home in Geneva. Among his pupils were: Hans-Eberhard Dentler, Roel Dieltiens, Cristian Florea, Julian Lloyd Webber. His son Jean-Pierre became a pianist performing under the name of Jean Fonda.
Pierre Fournier played 3 instruments: a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume 1863, a Matteo Goffriller 1722 and a rare Charles Adolphe Maucotel 1849. With the Maucoutel he played the last 18 years of his career and made all his recordings. |
