Paul Tortelier; French Cellist Espoused Pacifist Principles

Paul Tortelier, the master French cellist and pacifist who refused to perform in the United States during the Vietnam War, has died in Paris.

Reuters news agency reported that Tortelier was 76 and died Tuesday in Villarceaux near Paris, apparently of a heart attack.

Tortelier, who first performed in the United States in Boston in 1937 under Serge Koussevitzky, made an additional American tour in 1954. Because his career went into a slight decline, he was not invited to return again until the 1960s, when the Vietnam conflict was at its height.

He was the son of a Marxist idealist and said his father’s influence made it impossible for him to agree with this country’s position on the war.

Born in Paris, where he spent nearly all his life, Tortelier studied with Gerard Heking at the Paris Conservatory. He won a performance award there while still in his teens. His professional debut came at age 17 with the Lamoureux Orchestra.

He performed in France and Monte Carlo and in London at the Richard Strauss Festival in 1947 before returning to France and the faculty of the Paris Conservatory.

His compositions include several cello concerti, a series of songs and suites dedicated to world peace, and “Israel Symphony.” He had lived on an Israeli kibbutz in 1955.

In 1946, he married one of his students, Maud Martin, who performed with him in June, 1984, at the Laguna Beach Summer Music Festival.