Flesch, Carl (EN)

Flesch Carl, *9 October 1873 Moson, †15 November 1944 Lucerne, Hungarian violinist and teacher. He began studying the violin in 1878, and from 1883 studied under J. Grün in Vienna; from 1890 he continued at the Paris Conservatoire under E. Sauzay and M. P. J. Marsick. Through his teachers he came into contact with several schools of violin pedagogy: French, Franco-Belgian, and German, which gave him a comprehensive and thorough musical education. In 1894 he graduated with top honors. In 1895 he made his debut in Vienna, beginning an active concert career. In Berlin, performing violin works by 65 composers – from Corelli to Reger – Flesch presented, over the course of five concerts, a complete survey of violin literature. The originality of this artistic undertaking, as well as the excellence of its execution, became a notable event in the musical world. Between 1912 and 1933 he performed several times in Poland (Warsaw, Lviv, Łódź, Poznań). Flesch was also highly active as a teacher: from 1897 to 1902 he was a professor at the conservatory in Bucharest, from 1903 to 1908 in Amsterdam, and from 1908 to 1923 in Berlin. In 1921–1922 and again from autumn 1928 to 1934 he gave masterclasses in Berlin; from 1924 to 1928 he taught a violin class at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, and from 1926 he conducted summer courses in Baden-Baden. In 1934 he left Germany and continued his concert and teaching activity in London. During World War II he first stayed in the Netherlands and later in Hungary. In 1943 he took charge of a masterclass at the conservatory in Lucerne. He summarized his teaching experience in his writings, among which Die Kunst des Violin-Spiels became especially influential. He also published editions of violin concertos and partitas by J. S. Bach, as well as violin sonatas by Brahms and Mozart (with A. Schnabel). Flesch was one of the most outstanding violinists of his time; his playing was technically flawless and distinguished by exceptional artistic taste.

Literature: Carl Flesch. Erinnerungen eines Geigers, ed. C.F. Flesch, Freiburg im Breisgau 1960, English eds. H. Keller and C.F. Flesch, London 1957; W. Brederode Carl Flesch, Haarlem 1938.