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The Romanian-born Belgian violinist, Lola Violeta Ana-Maria Bobesco [Bobescu], had first violin lessons already at the age of 6 with her father, the conductor and composer Aurel Bobesco; and in 1928 they performed together for the first time. Her years as a child prodigy just flew by: at Jacques Thibaut’s instigation Marcel Chailley was her teacher at the École Normale Musique de Paris from 1928 to 1930. In 1930 she changed to Jules Boucherit at the Paris Conservatoire and stayed there until 1935. Jacques Thibaut and her compatriot George Enescu supported and encouraged her as mentors.
In Paris Lola Bobesco made her name as an extraordinary talent. In 1933 she had her first recital in Paris with the pianist Céliny Chailley-Richez - César Franck’s Violin Sonata and Gabriel Fauré's first Violin Sonata. In the same year you could read in Le Monde, "The twelve-year-old violinist Lola Bobesco, first prize at the conservatoire, who caused such a sensation in last June’s competition, will be premiering Stan Golestan’s Romanian Concerto [Concert de muzică românească for violin and orchestra] with Paul Paray and the Orchestre Colonne on Sunday, 2 February." In 1936 she gave a L.v. Beethoven concert together with the Orchestre Colonne under Paul Paray.
At the age of just 16 Lola Bobesco made her breakthrough when she participated in the first Eugène Ysaÿe International Competition in Brussels in 1937 (the predecessor of the Concours Musical Reine Elisabeth) where she finished in 7th place. In order to be able to fully appreciate this 7th place you have to take her competitors into account as well as the final decision of the jury (chaired by Carl Flesch): the first six places went to five Russian violinists (David Oistrakh, Elisabeth Gilels, Boris Goldstein, Marina Kozolupova and Mikhail Fichtengolz), the second place went to Ricardo Odnoposoff. The preparation and overall support by the political apparatus virtually compelled the Sovjet candidates to get top places and, as we can see, they managed to do so. However, Carl Flesch - who was in the jury together with Georg Kulenkampff, Joseph Szigeti, Jacques Thibaut, Jenö Hubay, André Gertler and others - criticised that technique had taken priority over spirituality, warmth and the mystery of music. In his opinion grim, unenthusiastic though technically brilliant playing made a W.A. Mozart concerto sound like a Kreutzer étude.
As the Russians had to go back to their native country directly after the competition, the way was clear for Lola Bobesco's career. Concerts with Willem Mengelberg, Willem van Otterloo and Ernest Ansermet followed. Antonio Janigro, Dinu Lipatti and Lola Bobesco set up a trio and performed together for several years. At that time she was just 16 years of age! This trio was the first to perform Dinu Lipatti’s Piano Trio in 1937. The beginning of World War II, however, put a stop to their performances.
In 1937 Lola Bobesco also took part in a Paris festival performing Sergei Prokofiev’s first violin concerto, which prompted the critic Antoine Goléa to remark, "A wonderful violinist who is rich in sound, passionate and plays with technical mastery and, surprisingly, without even making the slightest mistake - a quality that is becoming quite rare with some of today’s young talents." In the following year she made the acquaintance of the pianist Jacques Genty. Personally and artistically on the same wavelength, the two of them gave concerts all over France, performing violin sonatas by W.A. Mozart, Schubert and Johannes Brahms. The beginning of World War II put an end to their musical co-operation. However, Bobesco was able to continue performing in France and Belgium. Although established abroad even before the end of World War II, she returned to Romania and regularly appeared in concerts with the Radio Philharmonic in Bucharest, and the provinces in Craiova, Brasov, Iasi, Timisoara.
During World War II Jacques Genty was an active member of the French Resistance movement and Lola Bobesco, who commuted between Belgium and France, supported him by acting as a courier. In 1944, after the liberation of Paris, they got married and moved to Brussels in 1946. Ten years later and after having been married for 12 years, Bobesco and Genty went their separate ways. They got divorced in 1956 but continued their extraordinary musical partnership for further 35 years.
An interesting facet of Lola Bobesco’s personality is that she cultivated the image of a youthful and very feminine violinist for decades so that it was not by chance that her Japanese fans lauded her “eternal beauty”. And it is exactly this image she wanted the covers of her LPs to promote – into old age.
The programme the 16-year-old played at the first Eugène Ysaÿe International Competition in Brussels in 1937 already anticipated - for the most part - her system of musical values that she was to uphold throughout her career. At this competition she played G.B. Viotti’s Violin Concerto No. 22, Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, François Schubert’s L’abeille, Stan Golestan’s Laoutar, Fritz Kreisler’s Prélude et Allegro (based on G. Pugnani) and Sicilienne et Rigaudon in the style of Francoeur, Ysaÿe’s Rêve d’enfant Op. 4 and Sonata Op. 27,4 for solo violin, Gabriel Fauré's Berceuse Op. 16 and J.S. Bach’s first Sonata for violin solo.
The list of composers who were the pillars of her repertoire included Leclair, Veracini, Vivaldi, Corelli, Geminiani, J.S. Bach, George Frideric Handel, W.A. Mozart, L.v. Beethoven, Viotti, Schubert, Lalo, Kreisler, Lekeu, Debussy, César Franck, Gabriel Fauré, Francis Poulenc, Martinu, Béla Bartók, Igor Stravinsky as well as gems by Nin, Ramos, Espéjo, Herando and Golestan, all of them works - you might say - which were created in the spirit of the violin!
In 1958 Lola Bobesco founded the orchestra Les Solistes de Bruxelles (later renamed Ensemble d’archets Eugène Ysaÿe and nowadays known as Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie), whose concert-master (i.e. leader of the first violin section) she was and together with which she frequently also performed in Germany.
In 1960 Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt invited Lola Bobesco to give concerts together with the Berliner Philharmoniker (J. Brahms’ violin concerto). Other performances with Karl Böhm, Otto Klemperer, Rudolf Kempe and Ernest Ansermet followed. From 1962 to 1974 she also taught at the conservatoires in Brussels and Liège. Concerts with Genty, solo recitals with orchestras, concert-master of the orchestra she had founded and teaching responsibilities - Bobesco certainly led an extremely busy life. However, as regards the international scene of violinists, othhad meanwhile challenged her star status …
Lola Bobesco was also a professor at the French-language Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles and professor of violin at the Conservatory of Liège (1962-1974). Just like in 1971, she was a jury member at the Concours Reine Elisabeth in 1993 - the competition that (under another name) had helped launch her career in 1937.
The 1980's then saw Lola Bobesco “rediscovery”, especially in Japan, even though she had never been completely absent. Various labels - mainly Philips Japan - produced numerous recordings featuring Bobesco and Genty and specifically W.A. Mozart’s violin sonatas are among the best in this sector. In 1982 she played concertos by J.S. Bach, L.v. Beethoven and J. Brahms for an audience of 3,600 people in Osaka and gave several concerts in China in 1984. In 1991 she founded the string quartet L’Arte del Suono and some smaller labels produced several recordings with this ensemble.
Lola Bobesco recorded for Decca, Columbia, Les Discophiles Français, Nippon Program Arcophon, and other labels. Her recordings include: sonatas of L.v. Beethoven, G. Fauré, J. Brahms, C. Franck and Claude Debussy, and also Baroque music including concertos by J.S. Bach. She also worked with major orchestral ensembles of the world, including: Berliner Philharmoniker and London Philharmonic Orchestra, French orchestra Colonne, Lamoureux and Pas de loup, Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Geneva), and Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome).
A violinist of exceptional artistic force in spite of her delicate physique, Lola Bobesco balanced technical virtuosity with simplicity and interpretative austerity. Purity of lyrical expression, clear intonation, warm communicative musical phrasing, and originality of conception put her among the top international female performers. An admirable and great musician whose name is nowadays not as well-known as that of other important violinists of the 20th century. This might be attributed to the fact that you had to experience her live, on stage, where she was especially convincing. Her compelling and lively playing as well as the way she efficiently dealt with the kinetic energy of music made her audience listen with rapt attention.
On September 4, 2003 Lola Bobesco died in her house in Sart-lez-Spa in the Wallonian province of Liège. The street 'Rue Lola Bobesco' that encircles behind the cultural centre at the Brussels commune of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, is named after her. |
