Víctor Mirecki Larramat

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Víctor Mirecki Larramat
Víctor Mirecki Larramat, 1908
Born	July 21, 1847 Tarbes, France
Died	April 7, 1921 Madrid, Spain

Víctor Alexander Marie Mirecki Larramat (July 21, 1847 – April 7, 1921) was a Spanish cellist and music teacher of Franco-Polish origin. He was born in Tarbes, France and died in Madrid, Spain.

[edit] Introduction

Víctor Mirecki was one of the versatile concert performers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was a worldly man with a great array of social and cultural relations and an ingenious cellist, for his manner of interpreting music and for his work as a chamber musician and as a teacher. His work with Jesús de Monasterio in the Quartet Society of Madrid (Spanish: Sociedad de Quartetos de Madrid) greatly influenced the Spanish musical environment of the era, promoting contemporary European chamber music and allowing the works of emerging geniuses, such as Manuel de Falla, to spread.

His dedication to teaching in the National School of Music, later known as the Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid (Spanish: Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid), was important in fostering the next generation of innovators in cello techniques. He, along with the Belgian cellist Adrien-François Servais and the French cellist Auguste Franchomme, founded the magnificient Spanish school of cellists, whose most notable later students include Augustín Rubio, Juan Ruiz Casaux and Pablo Casals.

[edit] Childhood and youth in France

Son of the polish count Aleksander Mirecki and of Marie Zelinne Larramat, he grew up in a notable musical environment. His father, marshal and hero of the November Uprising against Russia from 1830 to 1831, had taken refuge in France with Louis-Philippe of France. After a stay in Paris, the count moved to Tarbes, where he taught violin. His three sons,Maurice, Víctor, and Françoise,were born there, and they all became dedicated to music. In 1857, at the age of ten, Víctor moved with his family to Bordeaux, where his father taught the violin as a professor of the Conservatory. In Bordeaux, Víctor began his studies for a military career in the Lycée.

In April of 1862, the cellist Adrien-François Servais and the violinist Henri Vieuxtemps carried out an outing for the city and were sheltered in the Mirecki house. The young Víctor, impressed by the interpretation of these masters, dedicated himself to practicing the instrument for the next two years, along with his brother, Maurice, and under the supervision of his father. His natural talent was outstanding, and in March of 1864, at 17 years of age, he played as a soloist in a public concert in the Bordeaux Conservatory, in the presence of the great Belgian cellist Adrien-François Servais. The success obtained by the young Víctor was such that the Servais convinced Victor's father to abandon the military studies and let the child dedicate himself completely to the cello.

When his studies in Bordeaux ended, he had obtained the first award and the medal of honor of the Conservatory, and he had also been granted an extraordinary scholarship to continue his studies in Paris. In 1865, he began his studies to perfect his playing in the Conservatoire de Paris. He was Auguste Franchomme's star pupil and, at the year, he moved to Halle, to the grave of his mentor, Servais. His period of training in Paris concluded as he obtained the award of honor of the Conservatoire de Paris, on August 6 1868, surpassing his classmate, also a cellist and the future successor of the master Auguste Franchomme, Jules Delsart. During the time of his training, with the help of his father and of his master, he worked diligently in the orchestras of various Parisian theaters, entering into contact with the great composers and musicians of the era, who had to visit Paris. He developed an intimate friendship with Pable Serasate, Edouard Lalo, Camille Saint-Saëns and Jules Massenet.