Carl Fuchs (cellist)

Carl Fuchs (born June 3, 1865 in Offenbach am Main , † June 9, 1951 in Manchester ) was an English cellist of German origin.

Life

Fuchs had his first cello lessons with Robert Riedel , who was first cellist in the orchestra of the Frankfurt Opera. From 1881 he studied at the Frankfurt Conservatory with Bernhard Cossmann and during this time he took part in performances of Brahms ' Second and Third Symphonies under the direction of the composer. He did his military service in 1885 as conductor of the choir of the 118th Infantry Regiment.

From 1886 Fuchs studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with Karl Dawidow . There he got to know Tchaikovsky , César Cui , Wassili Sapelnikow and Leopold von Auer , among others . With a letter of recommendation from Clara Schumann to Charles Hallé , the conductor of the orchestra of the Gentlemen's Concerts Society , he traveled to Manchester in 1887 and performed as a soloist with the orchestra. In London he performed a Brahms piano trio with James Kwast and Carl Deichmann and got to know the Italian cellist and composer Alfredo Piatti .

After various concert tours, Fuchs settled in Manchester and became principal cellist of the Hallé Orchestra under the direction of Hans Richter . He was also a member of the Schiever Quartet in Liverpool, from 1893 he was professor of cello at the newly founded Royal Manchester College of Music (RMCM); he held this position until 1942. In 1894 Adolph Brodsky became conductor of the Hallé Orchestra, and Fuchs joined Christopher Rawdon Briggs and Simon Speelman as a member of its string quartet. In the Schiller Institute founded by the German Club in Manchester , he performed with musicians such as Camille Saint-Saëns , Richard Strauss and Joseph Joachim . In 1899 he became a British citizen.

While visiting his mother, Fuchs and his family were surprised by the outbreak of the First World War and interned in Ruhleben. While his wife and children were soon allowed to leave Germany, he was released from prison, but placed under arrest in his sister's house. Despite interventions by prominent musicians such as Sir Henry Wood and Edward Elgar , Fuchs was not able to return to Britain and his family until 1919. In 1920 he continued his teaching activities at the RMCM, which elected him professor emeritus in 1945 in recognition of his services. In the 1930s he wrote the memoirs of an Offenbach cellist (published in 1937 as Musical and other recollections ).

literature

• Robert H. Cowden: Instrumental Virtuosi: A Bibliography of Biographical Materials. Greenwood Press, New York, 1989, p. 128.

swell

• Archives hub at the center of great research - Carl Fuchs Papers
• Richard van Emden: "Living with the enemy: Everyday life in the First World War" , Hoffmann and Campe, 2014, ISBN 9783455851113
• Oxford Index - Carl Fuchs