b iography copyright © 2007 june grandwells. all rights reserved

BIOGRAPHY

Copyright © 2007 June Grandwells. All rights reserved.

Intriguingly, June's power of concentration often leads the audience to associate her performance with a man's energy and vitality. This is perhaps because she exemplifies both the correspondence between masculinity and uncertainty which one finds in Schumann or Elgar, and also the balance in Bach or Beethoven between romanticism and scientism.

ESSENCE

At the same time, her performance is suffused with the spiritual purity that June herself possesses and that she regards as the quintessence of art. June plays with serenity, bringing out unobtrusive nuances with the carefully chosen articulation and gentlest use of inflection, in a manner reflecting her innate grace and dignity.


EARLY MUSICALITYJune’s exceptional musical ear was first

perceived when she remembered and sang more than 30 songs with perfect intonation at barely 18 months, before she had learned to talk.

Having been introduced to the cello at the age of nine, June instinctively knew at once that she had found her lifetime confidante, though she was unaware, as yet, that this rapport betokened her destiny as a cellist. She could play Kabalevsky’s and Saint‑Saëns’ First Concertos in less than two years. Still only eleven, June realised for the first

time that she was a born soloist when she experienced the audience’s prolonged demands for an encore after a solo performance in France. She added Boccherini’s Sonatas and Haydn’s C major Concerto to her repertoire over the next two years.


LEGACY

June’s cherished cello came to be called Josephine, whom she treasures more than her own life. Their private conversations symbolise June’s homage to her late father, while her public performances are dedicated each time to her audience, as well as expressing her gratitude towards her tutors and the composers.

“The cello has a spirit. Being made of wood, a blessing of this earth, it breathes. Its full rich tone closely resembles the human voice. Over time, cellos like mine, which have lived and matured through two centuries of change since their creation, resonate with this long adventure,” says June, capturing perfectly the charm of the cello.


ARTISTIC INTEGRITYJune’s high level of

diligence and self-motivation were made possible by her privileged background. She has also inherited the professionalism and musicianship of instrumentalists in her family, namely Gaspar Cassadó, Chieko Hara and her pianist mother.She values inner qualities much more highly than prizes

and qualifications, and seized every opportunity to learn and assimilate the artistry, and also mental discipline and strength, of artists trained under the Soviet system, in order to convey her understanding of their music without letting her own personal emotions deflect herself from the intended artistic expression.


PERFORMANCEJune’s performances are luxuriant, projecting a range of

colours and textures from exuberant and eloquent to subtle and delicate, unveiling the profundity of her interpretation and her authentic synthesis of Russian, German and French techniques. She can exude absolute tranquillity or suppressed suffering, inviting her audience into a world beyond themselves. June's concerto

performances in artistic East European cities with orchestras such as St. Petersburg State Academic Capella Symphony Orchestra (Russia) and MÁV Symphony Orchestra (Hungary) have been greeted with rapturous applause, especially for her Dovřák and Shostakovich. A recital series in Great Britain was equally well received.


INTERESTJune has an enquiring

mind and likes to satisfy her intellectual curiosity. Not only is she genuinely keen to expand her learning, but she is also endowed with extraordinary attentiveness, insight and abilities of absorption. June appreciates various genres of art, and her diverse interests also include psychology, philosophy, history and science.

June knows the importance of having the widest possible perspective on life, and of respecting other people’s own individual values. She also has a sparkling wit which is revealed in her light-hearted jests. Her well-rounded personality further enhances her performance.


IMAGES:

Antique Frames

www.antiqueframes.eu

Wallpaper

www.wallpaperdirect.co.uk

CD Cover (DENON COCQ83850)

“Chieko and Cassadó”

Columbia Music Entertainment

Photo by V. BARANOVSKY

(1999)

“Jewels Production 1999” Postcard

Mariinsky Theatre

AUGUSTUS JOHN, OM.

(Oil Painting 1920-3)

“Madame Suggia” Postcard (N04093)

Tate Gallery

REFERENCES:

NAOMI TOLLEY

(2003) 12 November 2003 Edition

“Turn a Desert into an Oasis”

Herald Express

ANNABEL MARTIN-BAH

(2003)

“Interview with June Grandwells”

MisterPinEd Ltd

KUMIKO ANDO

(1998) 15 October 1998 Edition

“Interview with June Grandwells

Her Search for the Way to Convey the Beauty of the Suppression of Emotions in the East”

Nichi‑Ei Times (1991 to 2002)

MICHIKO OI

(1976 to 1982)

“June’s Lesson Diaries”

Private Collection

EDITED BY:

EUGENE RYAN

VAL SOUTHONCopyright © 2007 June Grandwells. All rights reserved.

b iography copyright © 2007 june grandwells. all rights reserved

Documents

junes homage

egacy junes cherished

junes power of concentration

b iography copyright

solo performance

public performances

e arly

e ssence