Carl F. Flesch (1910 - 2008)
Carl F Flesch, son of the famous violinist, was born June 23rd 1910 in Austria and died in London February 11th 2008. He grew up in Germany. Unable to complete his law studies due to the advent of Hitler, he emigrated in 1933 and, after a short stay in Holland, settled in London. His newly chosen profession was insurance. He formed his own broking company and became "for his sins" as he says, an underwriting member of Lloyd's. He co-edited, together with the well-known musicologist Hans Keller, his father's Memoirs, which became, when published posthumously in English and German, a valuable addition to the history of violin playing between 1890 and 1940. He also arranged for the publication of new editions of several of his father's other works. He was instrumental in helping to establish, in 1946, the International Carl Flesch Violin Competition in London which ran for 49 years and grew into one of the most prestigious events of its kind in the world. Plans are afoot to revive it, especially as Great Britain is, surprisingly, one of the few Western countries without an international event in this class. He also advised on the Carl Flesch Akademie at Baden-Baden, an annual course for string players which attracts a large number of participants from all over the world.
In retirement he became London Correspondent of the German Insurance Magazine
"Versicherungswirtschaft" contributing a regular column about
the London
Insurance Market. In addition he has written several books.
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His first one, published by Toccata Press, London, is entitled "And do you also play the violin?" (which was usually the first question he was asked by strangers as a child). In this book he describes his personal memories of a host of famous musicians. In particular he gives intimate character sketches of his father - a useful complement to the latter's above-mentioned autobiography -, of the famous pianist Artur Schnabel with whom Carl Flesch collaborated for many years, and also of Alma Moodie, the foremost women violinist of the 1920s and 30s who, due to the fact that she left no recordings, has largely been forgotten (unforgivably, she is even no longer mentioned in "Groves"). He has a great deal to say about the pitfalls of being the son of a famous father; child prodigies (not forgetting their parents); Green Room behaviour; the "show must go on!" syndrome and very much else. The book - also published in German under the title "... und spielst Du auch Geige?" (Schott Söhne) - was widely acclaimed:
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