OBITUARIES

EDMOND BEART

The Belgian cellist and pedagogue Edmond Baert died on 17 February aged 89. The cellist taught and influenced generations of cello students in his long career.

Born in the Charleroi region in 1934, Baert embarked on his musical studies at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. He later joined the teaching staff at both institutions, after assisting his teacher Maurice Dambois in 1966 at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. He was considered a leading figure in the Belgian musical world, cultivating a dedicated teaching studio of cellists for over three decades and beyond his retirement in 1997.

In addition to his teaching work, Baert was principal cello of the Belgian National Orchestra and a prolific chamber musician.

Former student Eckart Runge said: ’His great musical, cello and life wisdom will remain exemplary for me, as will his generosity, humour and positivity. He used to say to me with a wink, when I was playing out of tune: “…c’est presque juste!” (it’s nearly in tune).’

GEOFFREY MICHAELS

The Australian-born, US-based violinist Geoffrey Michaels died on 17 February at the age of 79. Born in 1944 in Perth, Western Australia, Michaels began playing the violin at the age of five. He was recognised as a prodigy and at 14 became the youngest performer ever to win the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s concerto competition. He then toured Australia as a recitalist and soloist with the major orchestras.

In 1961 at the age of 16, Michaels was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied violin with Efrem Zimbalist, and violin and viola with Oscar Shumsky. He was a prizewinner at the Tchaikovsky Competition, the Queen Elisabeth Competition and the Concours Jacques Thibaud in Paris.

While still a student he accepted the Curtis Quartet’s invitation to become a member – a position he held until 1969.

He was also a founder member of the Philadelphia-based Liebesfreud Quartet. Fellow violinist Philip Kates described Michaels as ‘a long-time treasured quartet companion and a personal and professional inspiration’.

Michaels also performed with numerous other chamber ensembles, including the Janus Piano Trio, Performers’ Committee for Twentieth Century Music in New York, Richardson Chamber Players in Princeton, and Vancouver New Music Society.

His performance of the US premiere of Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso was broadcast in both the US and the Soviet Union.

An experienced teacher of violin, viola and chamber music, Michaels based himself in the US and taught at the New School of Music (now part of Temple University), Princeton University, and Swarthmore College. He served as professor at Florida State University and at the University of British Columbia. He performed on a 1733 Carlo Bergonzi violin made in Cremona.

ROGER ZABINSKI

US bow maker Roger Zabinski died of cancer on 27 February. He was 74 years old. Considered a leading bow maker of modern times, Zabinski was a member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers and Entente International des Luthiers et Archetiers (EILA).

Zabinski was born in 1950 and earned a bachelor’s degree in music history and literature from the University of Minnesota in 1973. During his studies, he met Vaido Radamus, who trained him in violin making and introduced him to making bows.

In 1976, Zabinski met Martin Beilke, an internationally known bow maker who worked in Minneapolis. Zabinski studied with him until Beilke’s death in 1979.

He worked at Clare Givens Violins from 1978 to 1983 before specialising in bow making. In the summer of 1984, Zabinski attended the New Hampshire bow making course, learning the French methods of bow making from William Salchow.

Zabinski was elected a member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers in 1985. The following year he received his journeyman’s certificate from that same institution, and was awarded a gold medal for his violin bow at the Violin Society of America (VSA) International Competition. He had since received numerous certificates of workmanship from the VSA.

In May 2011 Zabinksi was elected a member of EILA. He developed composite carbon fibre bows for CodaBow.

Zabinski made over 900 bows over the course of his career. Inspired by early French aesthetic, he used a number of models over the years, including Eugène Sartory, Dominique Peccatte and François Xavier Tourte, before working entirely with his own original pattern, developed from the spirit of the early and mid-19th-century French bow makers. A quartet of his bows are owned by the Smithsonian Institution.

FRANCO FANTINI

The Italian violinist Franco Fantini died on 2 April at the age of 99. He is remembered as having a 40-year affiliation with the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala, serving as violinist and concertmaster during his career.

Born on 12 February 1925, Fantini studied with Enrico Polo and Michelangelo Abbado at the Milan Conservatoire. He joined the Teatro alla Scala orchestra in 1942 at the age of 17. Twelve years later, in 1954, he became concertmaster of the orchestra, a post he held for four decades.

During his career Fantini experienced fundamental turning points in La Scala’s history, from the reopening with Toscanini in 1946 to the foundation of the Filarmonica della Scala with Claudio Abbado in 1982. He worked with artists such as Victor de Sabata, Arturo Toscanini, Claudio Abbado, Herbert von Karajan, Carlo Maria Giulini, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Riccardo Muti and Riccardo Chailly.

He was also a member of the Solisti di Milano directed by Angelo Ephrikian, of the Solisti della Scala with Abbado and of the Virtuosi di Roma with Angelo Stefanato. For 15 years he was first violin of the Quartetto della Scala.

Avolume of his memoirs collected by his daughter Silvana was published in 2023 by De Ferrari Editore, entitled Una vita in Scala.