Vienna Philharmonic mourns principal cellist
RIPThe family has made known the sudden death of Franz Bartolomey, principal cellist of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the State Opera from 1973 to 2012. Franz was 77.
Grandson of a principal clarinet in the Vienna Philharmonic, Franz was a champion of musicians’ rights and equality. His son Matthias is also a cellist.
He was a founder-member of the excellent Küchl Quartet.
Chairman Daniel Froschauer has issued this statement in the name of the Wiener Philharmoniker:
Mit großem Bedauern hat uns die Nachricht vom plötzlichen Ableben unseres pensionierten Kollegen und Solocellisten Professor Franz Bartolomey erreicht. Er war eine der prägenden Persönlichkeiten der Wiener Philharmoniker; sein musikalisches Wirken im Orchester wie auch in der Kammermusik hat das Kulturleben Wiens maßgeblich bereichert. Unsere Gedanken sind bei seiner Familie.
It is with great regret that we received the news of the sudden death of our retired colleague and solo cellist Professor Franz Bartolomey. He was one of the influential personalities of the Vienna Philharmonic; His musical work in the orchestra as well as in chamber music has significantly enriched Vienna’s cultural life. Our thoughts are with his family.
As a long-time resident of Vienna, I well remember countless appearance of Franz Bartholomey. I spoke to him only once, many years ago as we were both waiting at the same departure gate at the Vienna International Airport. It was such a pleasant conversation, with a completely “normal” person with no allures whatsoever. I well recall one subject of the conversation after I had made mention of the obviously “influenced” reviews of one of the leading music critics in Vienna. Mr. Bartholomey laughed, agreed with me and confessed that he had, for exactly that reason, cancelled his abo for that newspaper. RiP
“Franz was a champion of musicians’ rights and equality.” For the first 33 years of his 38 year tenure, the Vienna Philharmonic forbade membership to women and Asians. (The first woman aside from harpists entered the orchestra in 2007.) It would thus be interesting to know what did he did for musicians’ rights and equality?
Sing another song, Bill
… the Vienna Philharmonic forbade membership to women and Asians … the Vienna Philharmonic, NOT Mr. Bartholomey personally. Instead of accusing the dead, it would be better to find out how ALL THE MEMBERS of the governing committee voted during the 33 years in question, rather than making accusations to which the dead – for obvious reasons – cannot respond!
No surprise with Osborne’s comment here. You just know when the Vienna Phil is mentioned he is triggered.
A wonderful player and (what is not quite the same thing) an outstanding section leader. I well remember a VPO concert where the conductor (who had better remain nameless) cued a tutti celli entry at a tempo which was slightly too fast. A barely perceptible shake of Franz Bartholomey’s head alerted the other section members, who followed his bow to come in at the right tempo. That is part of what makes a truly great orchestra.
Requiescat.
Any passing of a musician from the VPO, no with such pedigree is truly sad
I was deeply saddened when I learned of the passing of Prof. Bartolmey. My wife and I heard him perform many times with the VPO during their annual visits to Carnegie Hall. We often sat in the front near the cello section. He and I often made eye contact and smiled at each other, but never spoke. I remember one concert in 2002…Bernard Haitink conducted the Strauss Don Quixote with Prof. Bartolomey performing as soloist. Early on we made eye contact and he seemed to frequently look at me during the performance. I began to wonder if he was actually playing just for me. Perhaps he was… or perhaps he was just looking out in my general direction. It was an extraordinary experience that only happened this once in over 60 years of concert-going and countless performances. May he rest in peace and in the company of so many of the great composers whose music he performed so beautifully