Pierre Menard (1941 - August 3, 1994)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Pierre Menard was a violinist with the Vermeer Quartet based at Northern Illinois University, where he was also a professor of music.

A violinist and founding member of the Vermeer Quartet, he died on August 3, 1994, at his home in Warren, Me. He was 53. The cause was AIDS, said his companion, John Ladley.

Mr. Menard was born in Quebec and began studying the violin there when he was 6. Later, he studied with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy Delay at the Juilliard School. After graduating, he became concertmaster of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and the Aspen Summer Festival Orchestra in Colorado.

In 1969, Mr. Menard became the second violinist in the newly formed Vermeer Quartet, the resident quartet at Northern Illinois University, where he was also a full professor of music. Over the years, he toured extensively with the group throughout North and South America, Europe and Australia, and made many recordings.

The ensemble also became the resident quartet in the Bay Chamber Concerts summer series in Rockport, Me. Mr. Menard retired from the quartet in 1992.

In addition to Mr. Ladley, he is survived by two sisters, Denise Tailfer and Georgette LeClerc, and three brothers, Gilbert, Yves and Jean-Paul.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/09/obituaries/pierre-menard-53-violinist-is-dead.html

Further Readings:

The Amadeus Book of the Violin: Construction, History, and Music by Walter Kolneder
Paperback: 600 pages
Publisher: Amadeus Press (March 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1574670387
ISBN-13: 978-1574670387
Amazon: The Amadeus Book of the Violin: Construction, History, and Music

Available for the first time in English, this book has been considered the best single encyclopedia of the violin for 20 years. All aspects of the violin are covered: construction, history, and literature; violin playing and teaching; and violin virtuosos through the ages.

Comments

[ryan field (from livejournal.com)]

Great post. I learned something new. Thanks for doing posts like this :)

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

these are the "faces of AIDS", during 1992, 1993 and 1994 many artists (writers, musicians, actors) died, I think those were the worst years. This is my little tribute to them.

Never forget

[(Anonymous)]

I'm from Quebec city in Canada. Pierre is my uncle. I'm a french people and sometimes search on Web a new material concern him. It's the first time I see this page. Tanks for the memory's it was a great violinist.

God bless you

Christian