Maurice Onderet

Onderet, Maurice

Onderet, Maurice. Violinist, pedagogue, b Mons, Belgium, 13 Jan 1899, d Charleroi, Belgium, 21 Aug 1982; premier prix (Brussels Royal Cons) 1920. His father taught him solfège and theory. In 1915 he obtained a diploma in violin from the Mons Cons and in 1918 he enrolled in the classes of Alfred Marchot at the Royal Cons of Brussels. Winner, there, of the Adolphe-Canler virtuosity prize in 1923, he also performed in recital and taught 1923-7 at the Cons de La Louvière. In 1927 he emigrated to Canada to teach at the McGill Cons, and ca 1930 he was a member of the first McGill String Quartet. He was concertmaster 1930-41 of the Montreal Orchestra and appeared as soloist in concertos by Bach, Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Vieuxtemps. He gave the Canadian premiere of the Sibelius Concerto with the Promenade Symphony Concerts in Toronto in 1937 and repeated it in Montreal in 1938. He was concertmaster of the CSM Orchestra 1941-5 and of the Little Symphony of Montreal 1942-5 and gave several recitals on CBC radio. He taught 1943-6 at the CMM and was a member of the Dubois String Quartet, the Montreal Trio, and the Jean Lallemand Quartet. Late in 1946 he returned to Belgium, taught at Mons and La Louvière, and performed as a soloist in Belgium and Germany. In 1948 Bosworth published his Méthode de violon in five volumes, as well as the treatise Le Staccato. Returning to Montreal Onderet taught 1965-71 at the École normale de musique and the Collège St-Laurent, and in 1967 inaugurated violin classes at the Conservatoire de Chicoutimi. With William Stevens he recorded the Franck Sonata (Select SSC-13-016) in 1969. Among his pupils are Nöel Brunet, Alexander Brott, Mildred Goodman, Roméo Mastrocola, Lionel Renaud, and Lucien Sicotte. In 1971 Onderet retired to his native city of Mons.