Harry Blech

Harry Blech (1909–1999) was a British violinist and conductor. He founded the London Mozart Players in 1949, and was known also as a conductor of studio recordings for HMV and Decca Records.[1]

Life

He was born in London, to Henri Blech and his wife, Sophie Stock. He was a scholarship boy at the Trinity College of Music, London, where he studied violin under Sarah Fennings. On her advice he took courses in Czechoslovakia from Otakar Ševčík. At age 18 he moved to become a pupil of Arthur Catterall at the Royal Manchester College of Music, and in 1929 joined the Hallé Orchestra.[1]

During the 1930s Blech played in the BBC Symphony Orchestra and string quartets. He became a conductor in 1942 under wartime conditions, and formed the London Wind Players from the RAF orchestra. After the war he formed the London Symphonic Players; the Blech String Quartet lasted to 1950, when he found difficulty in playing the violin.[1]

After conducting Mozart concertos in 1948 for the pianist Dorothea Braus, Blech formed the London Mozart Players, which he conducted to 1984, when he was succeeded by Jane Glover. He was twice married, having children with both wives, and died in Wimbledon on 9 May 1999.[1]

Notes

Kennedy, Michael. "Blech, Harry". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/72248. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

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[ODNB-1] Kennedy, Michael. "Blech, Harry". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/72248. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)