Friedrich Grützmacher

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Grützmacher (1 March 1832 – 23 February 1903) was a German cellist and composer in the second half of the 19th century. He composed mostly for cello (including several concertos and many technical studies), but also wrote orchestral pieces, chamber music, piano music and songs. Life Grützmacher was born in Dessau, Anhalt, and was first taught by his father. Soon he began studying cello with Dotzauer’s pupil, Karl Drexler (1800–1873). In 1848, he was discovered in Leipzig by the famous violinist, Ferdinand David, who arranged some concerts for him. In 1850, he became solo cellist in the Leipzig theatre orchestra, the Gewandhaus Concerts, and professor at the Leipzig Conservatory. He played in the David String Quartet. In 1860, Grützmacher moved to Dresden to be principal cellist of the court orchestra, and head of the Dresden Musical Society. In 1877, he became a professor at the Dresden Conservatory. He concertized all over Europe and Imperial Russia, where he became a friend of the famous cellist Karl Davydov. In 1876 he played a couple of concerts in Milan together with the violinist Edmund Singer and the pianist Anna Mehlig. Anna Mehlig was one of his fa