Hugo Becker
Hugo Becker (born Jean Otto Eric Hugo Becker, 13 February 1863, died 30 July 1941) was a prominent German cellist, cello teacher, and composer. He studied at a young age with Alfredo Piatti, and later Friedrich Grützmacher in Dresden.
Biography
He was born in 1863 in Strasbourg; his father Jean Becker was a famous violinist. His father tried teaching him violin at the age of six, but the young Becker loved cello, and switched over at the age of nine. By age fifteen he was touring with a string quartet made up of him, his father, sister, and brother. He had also become a leading cellist in the court orchestra in Mannheim.
In 1884, Becker was appointed solo cellist with the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra, and the following year became the leading cello teacher at the Frankfurt Hoch Conservatory. From 1909 to 1929, he was professor of cello at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin; among his students was George Georgescu, who would replace him as cellist in the Marteau Quartet before forsaking the cello for the conductor's podium on account of a hand injury. Later, Georgescu would remark, "All I know, I learned from Hugo Becker."
Hugo Becker (actor)
Hugo Becker (born 13 May 1987) is French actor and director. He is known for his roles as Louis Grimaldi in the American television drama Gossip Girl and Romain in the French thriller series Chefs.
Career
Becker is fluent in French, English, and Spanish. After graduating from both the National Academy of Dramatics Arts in France and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the United Kingdom, Becker was awarded the Young Cannes Talent in 2010. From 2010 to 2011, he appeared in such films as L'Assaut, La Proie, and La Croisière. He would go on to appear in the French police drama series R.I.S, police scientifique and Julie Lescaut.
In 2010, Becker made his American television debut, portraying Prince Louis Grimaldi of Monaco in the fourth season of Gossip Girl, shooting two episodes in Paris. He later reprised his role, shooting twenty episodes overall, this time in New York.
Becker starred opposite Greta Gerwig and Adam Brody in the Whit Stillman-directed 2011 comedy film Damsels in Distress. The film closed the 68th Venice International Film Festival and was selected at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. In 2012, he appeared in Drake Doremus' film Breathe In, co-starring alongside Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones. That same year, he appeared in two episodes of the English-language French television series Jo.
