Anja Thauer

Anja Heidi Thauer (3 July 194518 October 1973) was a German cellist.

Biography Born in Lübeck, Thauer had her first music lessons in the town of Braunschweig. The family subsequently moved to Erlangen. Her parents, particularly her mother, Ruth Thauer (née Meister ), recognised that she had an above-average musical talent at an early age. Thauer played violin and cello duets with her mother in public at age 12. She made her debut with the Baden-Baden orchestra at age 13 playing the Boccherini-Grützmacher B-flat cello concerto. In due course, Thauer attended the conservatory in Nuremberg.

At age 14, Thauer was accepted into the master class of Professor Ludwig Hoelscher. At age 15, she studied with André Navarra at the Paris Conservatory, and in parallel, she studied painting, philosophy and other literature courses at the École normale supérieure. Thanks to her adoptive father's senior position at Siemens, and at the NDR with the Hanover Radio Orchestra. She recorded commercially for Deutsche Grammophon, including the Cello Concerto of Dvořák with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zdeněk Mácal, and chamber works of Max Reger and Jean Françaix with Jean Françaix as the pianist.

Later, Thauer became involved in a relationship with a married doctor in Wiesbaden. The relationship was broken off and, on 18 October 1973, Thauer committed suicide in her home in Wiesbaden, West Germany. Five days later, the doctor also committed suicide.

Recordings Antonín Dvořák: Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra in B minor, op. 104 - Deutsche Grammophon Max Reger: Suite No. 3 - Deutsche Grammophon Jean Françaix: Fantasie, with Jean Françaix, piano - Deutsche Grammophon Eugen d'Albert: Cello Concerto in C major - Attaca 4/6413 Franz Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata in a minor - Attaca 4/6413 Jean Françaix: Movement perpetuel - Attaca 4/6413