Maurice Gendron: Charm and Cello

Maurice Gendron (1920–1990) played on an instrument that now bears his name. It is a Stradivari cello of 1693, and in honour of this great cellist it is now known as the “Gendron, Lord Speyer” cello. Gendron felt himself born under a lucky star. After studies in his birthplace Nice, where he already showed exceptional promise, he moved to Paris. His stupendous ability and charming manner soon spread his reputation, and in the artistically inclined French capital he attracted the attention of such prominent figures as Picasso, Mauriac and Cocteau. The end of the Second World War opened the doors of the world’s concert halls to him. One early highlight was the European first performance of the Prokofiev Cello Concerto op. 58 with the Philharmonic Orchestra under Walter Süsskind in London in 1945. Pablo Casals himself, the revered role model of all twentieth-century cellists, invited Gendron to make music with him. So did the violinist Yehudi Menuhin, who invited him to make up a trio together with his sister Hephzibah.