Víctor Mirecki – A Genius Of A Cellist

Víctor Alexander Marie Mirecki Larramat, achieved Spanish cellist and music teacher, died of old age at 72, on April7th. Víctor Mirecki was one of the most flexible and talented concert performers in the late 19th century and early 20th century. He was a man of the world with great social connections and cultural relations and was very well known as a genius of a cellist because of his impeccable manner of understanding music and also because of his work as a chamber musician and teacher.

The cellist was dedicated to teaching in the National School of Music, which was later known as the Madrid Royal Conservatory. His dedication was important in taking care and creating the next generation of innovators in techniques regarding the cello.

Son of the Polish Aleksander Mirecki and of Marie Zelinne Larramat, Víctor grew up in a musical environment. His father, marshal of the November Uprising against Russia, had taken refuge in France. After staying in Paris, his father moved to Tarbes where he taught the violin. Víctor was one out of 3 sons, the other two being Maurice and Françoise, and they were all born there. The three of them eventually became inclined to music. At the age of 10 in 1857, Víctor moved with his family to Bordeaux, where his father taught the violin as a professor at the Conservatory. There he began his studies for a place in the military in the Lycée. In April1862, the cellist Adrien-François Servais and the violinist Henri Vieuxtemps visited Bordeaux and were sheltered in the Mirecki house. Bewildered by these masters' performance and ability to present with great understanding, the young Víctor, along with his brother Maurice, dedicated themselves to the cello for the following next two years, under the supervision and teaching of their father. Víctor's natural talent was outstanding, and in March 1864, at 17 years old, he played as a soloist in a public concert at the Bordeaux Conservatory in the presence of Servais as a guest. Víctor's success was so incredible that Servais convinced Victor's father to allow him to quit his military studies and dedicate himself entirely to his gift of a talent with the instrument.

At Bordeaux he received the first prize and the medal of honor of the Conservatory, and was also awarded a scholarship to further his studies in Paris.He began his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1865 and became Auguste Franchomme's star and favorite pupil .He received the award of honor from the Conservatoire on 6 August 1868. During the course of that year, he visited Halle to pay his respects at the resting place of his mentor, Servais.

With the help of his father and of his mentor, he worked diligently in the orchestras of various Parisian theaters, meeting with great composers and musicians of the era who visited Paris; he developed intimate friendships with Pablo de Sarasate, Édouard Lalo, Camille Saint-Saëns and Jules Massenet. Like every musical show, there is a beginning and an end, and Víctor has gracefully bowed off the stage, leaving us his beautiful music to tell his tale. His music lives on from here on out.