Pierre Fournier

(b Paris, 24 June 1906; d Geneva, 8 Jan 1986). French cellist. After study at the Paris Conservatoire he soon became known in a wide repertory, cultivating a smooth tone, graceful phrasing and firm intellectual control. His first US tour was in 1948. As a chamber musician he was heard with Primrose and Schnabel and, latterly, Szeryng and Kempff. He gave the premières of concertos by Roussel, Martin and Martinů.

(b Paris, 15 Sept 1712; d Paris, 8 Oct 1768). French printer and publisher. He was born into a family of printers and type-founders. In 1729 he began to work at the celebrated Le B? type foundry in Paris, of which his father was manager; he also studied drawing at the Acad?mie de St Luc. In 1736 he started up as a professional type-founder, producing woodcut vignettes and some large-format type. In 1739 Fournier was formally registered as a typecutter. He made the first move towards the standardization of type sizes with a Table of Proportions (1737), although his method was supplanted by that of the Didot family. His first specimen book, Mod?les des caract?res de l'imprimerie (Paris, 1742), showed 4600 punches. Fournier's typographic skills lay in his modernization of type forms. His roman types increased the thin-thick stroke contrasts and used flat, unbracketed serifs; his italic has been described as the most legible of all. His interests also lay in the design of metalcut floral ornaments and in music cutting, for which he developed a more unified system than that previously possible. Fournier's technical improvements included moulds for the continuous casting of rules and leads that allowed for much longer rules. Having applied in 1757 for the status of Master Printer in order to print his own books, he was granted it in 1762, but it was soon annulled. His major late work was the Manuel typographique (Paris, 1764-6) comprising two of the intended four volumes and covering the cutting and founding of type and type specimens (see TYPOGRAPHY, fig. 2). His style fell from favour in the early 19th century but was rediscovered and re-evaluated by DANIEL BERKELEY UPDIKE in the 1920s.

See the Abbreviations for further details.

Quotes:

"Great individuals are not only popular themselves, but they give popularity to whatever they touch."

Bust of Fournier in Geneva, Switzerland.

Pierre Fournier (June 24, 1906 – January 8, 1986) was a French cellist who was called the "aristocrat of cellists," on account of his elegant musicianship and majestic sound.

He was born in Paris, 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 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 and later with Paul Bazelaire. He graduated from the Paris Conservatory at 17, in 1923. 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. He became well known when he played with the Concerts Colonne Orchestra in 1925. He began touring all over Europe. He played with many of the most highly acclaimed, prestigious musicians of his time, and recorded the complete chamber music of Brahms and Schubert for the BBC on acetates. However, these deteriorated before the recordings could be transferred to a more durable medium. He is also praised for his recordings of the Bach suites, which are regarded to be some of the suites' best recordings.

Fournier taught at the École Normale de Musique in Paris and the Paris Conservatory from 1937 to 1949. He made his first tour of the United States in 1948 and played to great acclaim in New York and Boston.

From 1956 on, he made his home in Switzerland, although he never relinquished his French citizenship. In 1963, he was made a member of the French Legion of Honor.

He continued performing until two years before his death at the age of 79. He also continued to teach privately at his home in Geneva: the British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber was among his pupils.

His son Jean-Pierre became a pianist performing under the name of Jean Fonda.

Awards and recognitions

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:

• Pierre Fournier, Arthur Rubinstein & Henryk Szeryng for Schubert: Trios No. 1 in B Flat, Op. 99 and No. 2 in E Flat, Op. 100 (1976)
• Pierre Fournier, Arthur Rubinstein & Henryk Szeryng for Brahms: Trios (Complete)/Schumann: Trio No. 1 in D Minor (1975)

Source

• Angela Hughes, Pierre Fournier: Cellist in a Landscape with Figures (Scolar Press, 1998). ISBN 1859284221

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