Carl Flesch is the son of the famous violinist of the same name. Known as Carl F. Flesch, he was born June 23rd 1910 in Austria, and grew up in Germany. He began as a law student but was unable to complete his studies due to the advent of Hitler, so he emigrated in 1933 and eventually settled in London. He made a career in insurance and formed his own broking company, becoming an underwriting member of Lloyd's.
Among his literary achievements are editing his father's memoirs with the musicologist Hans Keller. It was published in English and German, and became an important source of information on the subject of classical violin between 1890 and 1940. He also arranged for the re-publication of several of his father's other works.
He has written a number of books on a range of subjects. They include a collection of essays, Who's Not Who, on topics ranging from the educational significance of Kurt Hahn, the founder of Gordonstoun school, to class, old age, adultery, paedophilia and republicanism versus the monarchy; Where Do You Come From?, a humorous and insightful study of the culture and history of German-Jewish refugees in Britain; and an authoriative biography of his father And Do You Play the Violin? which places him in his historical and artistic context.
He was instrumental in establishing, the Carl Flesch Violin Competition in London in 1946, an international event which ran for 49 years and grew into one of the most prestigious classical music competitions in the world. Plans are afoot to revive it, since Britain is one of the few Western countries without an international event in this class. He is also involved in an advisory capacity with the Carl Flesch Akademie at Baden-Baden, an annual course for string players which attracts many participants from all over the world.
Eminent in his chosen profession, he became London Correspondent of the German Insurance Magazine Versicherungswirtschaft, contributing a regular column about the London Insurance Market.