Rue Françoise Groben - Street

Rue Françoise Groben

Differdange
Cello virtuoso
Name
Françoise
Groben
Birth year
1965
Year of death
2011
Places of residence
Luxembourg

Who is she?

Daughter of Joseph Groben, literary and cultural scholar, author and teacher, Françoise Groben was born on December 4, 1965 in Luxembourg. At the age of five, she began studying the cello at the Luxembourg Conservatory with Francine Weber-Deprelle and Georges Mallach. She finished her studies in the master class of Boris Pergamenschikow at the Musikhochschule Köln, where she obtained her higher diploma "Konzertreife". Her older sister Anne was also a musical virtuoso, concentrating on violin and viola studies.

In 1974, the young cellist co-founded the ensemble "Les jeunes Musiciens". At the age of 15, she was selected for the European Community Youth Orchestra (ECYO), just like her sister, and played under the direction of Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Herbert von Karajan and Georg Solti.
In 1990, she won the 2nd Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow as well as several special prizes. In the same year she began her international career as a soloist at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Dmitri Kitajenko. Prestigious engagements have taken her to most European countries, to such renowned concert halls as the Musikverein in Vienna, the Festspielhaus Salzburg, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and the Santory Hall in Tokyo. Several tours have taken her to Japan, China, the United States, Australia, Canada and Israel. She performs with numerous orchestras such as the Russian National Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Virtuosi, the ECYO Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of conductors such as Yuri Ahronovich, Leopold Hager, Daniel Harding, Mstislav Rostropovich, David Shallon, Yevgeny Svetlanov...

A much sought-after chamber music partner, Françoise Groben co-founded the renowned Zehetmair String Quartet in 1994, with whom she toured extensively until 2003. Their CD recordings have received international critical acclaim and numerous awards, including a "Gramophone Record of the Year Award" in 2003. In 2002 she founded a keyboard trio with the Ukrainian violinist Mourja Graf and the Russian pianist Peter Laul. Their recording of Brahms trios was awarded a Diapason d'Or (2007). With the Meininger Trio she explores the repertoire of contemporary women composers.

The premature death of the Groben sisters, Anne in December 1992, Françoise in May 2011, has deeply moved the world of culture. It is in their memory that the OCL has created a prize to support young talent from Luxembourg's music schools. The Anne & Françoise Groben Prize was awarded for the first time in June 2017.
In 2022, the German music producer Günter Hänssler published a six-CD box set "In memoriam Françoise Groben" which was praised by international music critics. The French musicologist Jean-Charles Hoffelé concludes: "Yes, Françoise Groben was one of the major cellists of her time.

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