Maurice Dambois

Belgian cellist (born March 30, 1889 in Liège, Belgium — died November 12, 1969 in Liège, Belgium)

The son of a music professor, Dambois studied at the Liège Conservatory between 1899 and 1905. At the age of 12, he started playing professionally with the casino orchestra of Spa. Briefly, he was a member of a string trio directed by Eugène Ysaÿe. He toured Germany, France, the Netherlands, England, and Portugal. In 1912, he was appointed principal professor of cello at the Liège Conservatory.

During World War I, Dambois fled occupied Belgium for England and successfully toured the United States. After the war, he returned to Belgium and started teaching at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels. From 1923, he was a member of the Trio de la Cour de Belgique, together with pianist Emile Bosquet and violinist Alfred Dubois.

Dambois composed mostly chamber music and songs, but also a violin concerto.

Other composers admired Dambois so much that they dedicated works to him: Ysaÿe did so in 1924 with his "Sonate en Ut mineur pour violoncelle seul" (opus 28) and Joseph Jongen with his "Poème n°2 pour violoncelle et orchestre" (1916) and with two pieces from 1930, "Humoresque pour violoncelle et orchestre" and "Fantaisie rhapsodique pour violoncelle et orchestre."