Jean Gérardy (7 December 1877 – 4 July 1929),[1] often rendered Gerardy, was a Belgian cellist, dubbed "the Wizard of the 'cello"[2] and "the
Sarasate of the 'cello".[3]
History
Gerardy in 1901
Gerardy was born in
Spa,
Liège, Belgium, a son of Dieudonné Gérardy, a professor at the conservatoire of
Aix-la-chapelle, and later that at
Lille,[1] known as a composer and
cornettist.
He had some early instruction from his father, and was considered an accomplished player at age seven. He took the full violoncello course under
Alfred Massau at
Verviers Conservatoire, from 1 October 1885 to 15 August 1889, during which he won numerous prizes and awards.[4] He had further instruction from
Richard Bellman of the
Heckmann Quartet and one Grützmacher, most likely
Friedrich, in Dresden.[5]
At age 11, while still a student, he played at
Nottingham in a trio with
Paderewski and
Eugène Ysaÿe and in London he was hailed as the new
Piatti.[1]
He first visited Australia in 1901 with his manager, violinist
Albert H. Canby, having recently split with C. L. Young.[6]
He arrived in Sydney aboard the RMS Ventura[7] from San Francisco on 11 May 1901;[8] and took the train to Melbourne a week or so later. The stated purpose of his visit was a holiday,[9] but included some concerts with Australian singer
Olive Kingston and German pianist
Eduard Scharf, who had recently settled in the country. Their tour dates were:
Melbourne, at the
Town Hall: 30 May 1901,[10] 1 June,[11] 4 June[12] 6 June,[13] 8 June[14] 10 June[15] 12 June[16] and 15 June.[17] They made one country concert, at the Royal Princess Theatre,
Bendigo, on 11 June.[18]
Adelaide: at the
Town Hall 22 June, 25 June, 27 June, and 29 June; all evening concerts. He arrived in Sydney from Melbourne on 6 July 1901.
Sydney: at the
Town Hall 9 July, 11 July, 13 July, 16 July, 17 July (matinee), and 18 July. Attendance at the Sydney concerts was disappointing, many seats being empty.
On 20 July Gerardy left Sydney with Canby, his manager, by the
SS Westralia for New Zealand, where he played at
Christchurch and
Auckland, returning to the US by the RMS Ventura on 17 August.[19]
He returned to Australia in 1902 for
J. H. Tait, in company with Gottfried Galston (pianist) and
Electa Gifford (singer), again under the management of A. H. Canby. They played six concerts each in Melbourne (10–19 July) and Sydney (24 July – 2 August), with one night in Bendigo (18 July) then three in Brisbane (7–9 August); a promised tour of Tasmania was cancelled. Many concerts were under-subscribed and Gerardy did not return to Australia until 1923.
He was a member of
Artur Schnabel's second Schnabel Trio with the violinist
Carl Flesch, but in 1914, with the outbreak of the First World War, he left the trio and was replaced by
Hugo Becker.
He joined the Belgian Army as a private, but was soon taken out of the ranks and made several important concerts for the troops and fund raisers for the Red Cross.
In April 1923 Gerardy, accompanied by his Australian-born wife, was brought back to Australia by
E. J. Gravestock for an extended tour, beginning at Sydney on 14 April.[3] Supporting him was American pianist
George Stewart McManus and Australian contralto
Essie Ackland. Unlike his earlier concerts in Sydney, the demand was so great that additional dates were added to the schedule. The
Anzac Day concert was made more memorable by the guest appearance of Sir
Harry Lauder.[20] The Central Hall,
Newcastle followed on 5 May, then Melbourne 8–24 May, Adelaide 31 May – 6 June, Perth 11–19 June, Kalgoorlie 21 June, Adelaide again 25, 26 June. They left for New Zealand on 29 July, a highly successful tour with barely an empty seat in over 20 concerts.[21] He returned to touring Australia in Brisbane 5–10 September and back to Sydney 12–15 September and Melbourne 18–26 September, with Geelong on 19 September. The farewell concert on 29 September was backed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, under
Alberto Zelman.[22] He left for Europe by the RMS Osterley on 1 October.
Gérardy died at Spa, Belgium.
Instruments
Gerardy owned a 1710
Stradivarius cello, which had not been played in 80 years when he purchased it from
Lord Norton; in 1923 it was valued at £10,000. He had a replica made by
Hart and Son of London, for use while at sea.
A sister, Theresa Gerardy, was a fine pianist.[25]
References
^
abc"Jean Gerardy". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 28, 551. New South Wales, Australia. 8 July 1929. p. 12. Retrieved 2 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^
ab"Jean Gerardy". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 26, 607. New South Wales, Australia. 16 April 1923. p. 6. Retrieved 4 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia. Other references had this first concert 17 April.
^"Jean Gerardy". The Daily Telegraph. No. 6827. New South Wales, Australia. 27 April 1901. p. 6. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 19, 709. New South Wales, Australia. 13 May 1901. p. 1. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Late Shipping". The Daily Telegraph. No. 6839. New South Wales, Australia. 11 May 1901. p. 10. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"M. Jean Gerardy". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 17, 118. Victoria, Australia. 22 May 1901. p. 7. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"M. Jean Gerardy". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 17, 126. Victoria, Australia. 31 May 1901. p. 6. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"The Gerardy Matinee". The Age. No. 14, 427. Victoria, Australia. 3 June 1901. p. 9. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia. (Saturday matinee)
^"M. Jean Gerardy". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 17, 130. Victoria, Australia. 5 June 1901. p. 6. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"M. Jean Gerardy". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 17, 132. Victoria, Australia. 7 June 1901. p. 6. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Jean Gerardy". The Age. No. 14, 433. Victoria, Australia. 10 June 1901. p. 9. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Jean Gerardy". The Age. No. 14, 434. Victoria, Australia. 11 June 1901. p. 6. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Amusements". The Age. No. 14, 436. Victoria, Australia. 13 June 1901. p. 6. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia. Wednesday matinee
^"Jean Gerardy". The Age. No. 14, 439. Victoria, Australia. 17 June 1901. p. 6. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Jean Gerardy". The Bendigo Independent. No. 8653. Victoria, Australia. 12 June 1901. p. 3. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Amusements". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 19, 767. New South Wales, Australia. 19 July 1901. p. 3. Retrieved 4 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Jean Gerardy's Farewell". The Age. No. 21, 372. Victoria, Australia. 1 October 1923. p. 12. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"On and Off the Stage". Table Talk. Victoria, Australia. 28 November 1907. p. 23. Retrieved 28 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. Vol. LXXVII, no. 12, 460. New South Wales, Australia. 25 April 1878. p. 8. Retrieved 28 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Musical Notes". The Register (Adelaide). Vol. LXVI, no. 16, 991. South Australia. 29 April 1901. p. 3. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.