Antônio Meneses | |
|---|---|
 Meneses in 2016 | |
| Born | (1957-08-23)23 August 1957 Recife, Brazil |
| Died | 3 August 2024(2024-08-03) (aged 66) Basel, Switzerland |
| Occupations |
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| Organizations | |
| Awards | International Tchaikovsky Competition |
Antônio Jeronimo de Meneses Neto (23 August 1957 – 3 August 2024) was a Brazilian cellist[1] and an academic teacher based in Switzerland. Known professionally asAntônio Meneses, he won the first prize and gold medal at the 1982International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He was the cellist of theBeaux Arts Trio from 1998 to 2008.
Meneses promoted the music of Brazilian composers, commissioning new works and recording the complete works for cello byHeitor Villa-Lobos. He taught at theBern Academy of Arts.The Strad wrote that he "was one of the most acclaimed soloists and chamber musicians of his generation".[2]
Born inRecife to João Jeronimo Meneses and Rivanice Vieira de Meneses, Meneses was the eldest of five sons.[1] He grew up inRio de Janeiro.[3] His father played French horn in the orchestra of theRio de Janeiro Opera.[4][5] He was the eldest of five brothers who all played string instruments.[2][6][7] He played cello from age twelve, taught by Nydia Otero. He played in the youth orchestra of theMunicipal Theatre and theBrazilian Symphony Orchestra (BSO).[6] When he was 16,Antonio Janigro discovered him when he played with the BSO.[6] Meneses subsequently studied with Janigro in Düsseldorf and at theMusikhochschule Stuttgart.[2][8]
In 1977, Meneses won the first prize at theARD International Music Competition in Munich, and in 1982, he was awarded first prize and gold medal at theTchaikovsky Competition in Moscow,[2][7][9] the only musician to win both competitions.[10] He made his American debut withClaudio Abbado and theLondon Symphony Orchestra,[11] followed by his New York City recital debut at theMetropolitan Museum of Art the following year.[12] Meneses performed as a soloist with various orchestras, including theLondon Symphony Orchestra, theNew York Philharmonic underKurt Sanderling,[13] and theDetroit Symphony Orchestra.[14][15]
Meneses performed as a guest at various festivals, including theEdinburgh International Festival,Lucerne Festival,Aldeburgh Festival,Prague Spring,[2] thePablo Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, theSalzburg Festival, theWiener Festwochen, theBerlin Festival, and theMostly Mozart Festival.[16]
Meneses regularly played chamber music with theVermeer Quartet on tour[2] in Europe and in Japan, as well as theEmerson String Quartet and theAmati Quartet.[17] He was the cellist of theBeaux Arts Trio in its final incarnation, performing with pianist and founderMenahem Pressler and violinists Yung Uck Kim andDaniel Hope, from 1998[10][18] until the Beaux Arts Trio disbanded in 2008.[19][10] In recital, he collaborated with pianists such as Pressler,[7]Maria João Pires,[20]Nelson Freire,[14][21] and Gérard Wyss,[22]
He usually played aMatteo Goffriller cello from 1710, and also a cello by Fabrice Girardin, and an instrument by Luiz Amorim and Filippo Fasser.[2]
Meneses recorded Brahms'Double Concerto for violin and cello withAnne-Sophie Mutter and theBerlin Philharmonic conducted byHerbert von Karajan forDeutsche Grammophon in 1983.[2][23] He also recorded Strauss'Don Quixote with Karajan and the orchestra.[2][24] Meneses recorded works ofDavid Popper with theSinfonieorchester Basel.[25] He made the first of his three recordings of Bach'sCello Suites for Philips Records Japan[26] and recorded Tchaikovsky'sPiano Trio with violinistNadja Salerno-Sonnenberg andCecile Licad for EMI/Angel.[27] In July 1997, Meneses recorded the three concertos byCarl Philipp Emanuel Bach with theMunich Chamber Orchestra.[14] In 2013, Deutsche Grammophon released a live recording from London'sWigmore Hall of Meneses and Maria João Pires playing[2] music by Bach and Mendelssohn, Schubert'sArpeggione Sonata and theFirst Cello Sonata by Johannes Brahms.[28] With pianist Gérard Wyss, he played the complete works by both Schubert and Schumann, and with Pressler chamber works by Beethoven. He recorded Haydn'sCello Concertos andClóvis Pereira [pt]'sConcertino with theRoyal Northern Sinfonia. A CD of Elgar'sCello Concerto with the orchestra conducted by Claudio Cruz was nominated for aGrammy Award.[2][29]
Meneses commissioned several works from composers from Brazil, for example in 2009 music inspired by Bach’s suites.[2][7] He celebrated his 60th birthday by recording a CD of classical and Brazilian popular music with pianistAndré Mehmari in 2017.[2] He recorded the complete works for cello byHeitor Villa-Lobos, and especially hiscello concertos and theFantasia for cello and orchestra with theSão Paulo State Symphony Orchestra in 2023.[2][7] A reviewer of the 2023 recording described his music-making as "very sensitive and always lively", expressive even in low register in spite of the dense texture of the compositions.[30]
Meneses was a professor of cello at theBern Academy of Arts from 2008 until his retirement in 2023.[2][31][3] He lectured at theAccademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena and at the Accademia Stauffer in Cremona.[2] He gave masterclasses in Europe, Japan, and the United States.[2][32] He taught students an attitude of strict respect towards a composer's score.[10]
Meneses was married twice. His first marriage was to pianistCecile Licad,[33] and the couple had a son,[6] Otávio.[1] The marriage ended in divorce.[33][34][35] His second marriage was to Satoko Kuroda. While he never lived in Brazil again after leaving the country to study in Europe, he returned regularly for visits and playing chamber music with friends.[6]
In June 2024, Meneses was diagnosed withglioblastoma multiforme and announced his immediate withdrawal from all his concert engagements and teaching positions.[36] Meneses died in Basel on 3 August 2024, at the age of 66.[2][6][7][10]
