The Boy Wonder - Franz von Vecsey

 

It seems like an ordinary snapshot
of a boy in stripy pajamas stepping out the door
of a small house on wagon wheels.
Disregarding the unusual shack being above water,
nearly every family has photos just like it
taken at a beach in summers past.

But this one is different
as it is a postcard
with a simple caption:
Franz de Vecsey.

Franz was no ordinary kid
but a boy with great talent.
Though he was only 11 years old
he was already a violin virtuoso
who was on his way to becoming a superstar celebrity.

But he could be just like other boys, too.
This is his story.

The postcard of Franz has him stepping off a "bathing machine" in Ostende, the seaside resort in West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The postcard was sent on 26 November 1904, hardly summer time, to Frl. M. Knecht, the Consulat de France in Düsseldorf, Germany, the capital city of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia on the Rhine River. The writer left a short note for the consul on the front of the postcard.

In
remembrance
of the lovely
musical evening we
spent in the Tonhalle on
November 25th 1904
with love
Lil.

Franz von Vecey had shot to the front of a crowded line of young violin prodigies only the year before when he gave his debut public concert at the "Beethoven Halle" in Berlin on 17 May 1903. He was then just a few months past his 10th birthday. Born in Budapest, Hungary on 23 March 1893, both of Franz's parents were musicians. His mother Anna was a pianist and his father Lajos Vecsey was a violinist who gave Franz his first lessons on violin. It was soon apparent that Ferenc, as he was called by his parents, had an extraordinary talent, so at age 8 he was sent to study with Jenő Hubay (1858–1937), a Hungarian violinist, composer and distinguished violin teacher in Budapest. 

 

However Vecsey's talent was so astonishing that he was sent to Berlin to play for the eminent Hungarian violinist and teacher, Joseph Joachim (1831–1907), who was then considered the greatest violinist of his time. It was for Joachim that the composers Schumann, Brahms, Bruch, and Dvořák wrote their violin concertos. He had also taught many of the younger generation of violin virtuosos, including Hubay. So many violinists aspired to get a place in Joachim's studio that he only accepted those with exceptional talent. After first hearing Franz, Joachim recognized that this special musical genius was ready for public performances. He reportedly said of young Vecsey, "He is the most marvelous example of a musical prodigy I have ever encountered.  I cannot explain it.  He is beginning where everyone else has left off."

 

It was Joachim who in May 1903 arranged for Vecsey's first concert in Berlin with an orchestra that Joachim would conduct. It featured Beethoven's monumental concerto for violin. The acclaim he received from this concert brought more concert offers and over the next few months Vecsey would play in Vienna, St. Petersburg, and then London. 

In this postcard Franz, dressed in a white sailor suit, leans casually on a photographer's studio table. He is not even holding his violin, which rests on a chair, just his bow. The only identification is a single word caption: Vescey, a mistaken spelling that many Hungarians have learned to endure. Franz proper name in Hungarian is Vecsey Ferenc as surnames are placed first.   

This postcard was sent from Muenchen (München), Bavaria on 28 December 1903. 

New Orleans Times-Democrat
13 December 1903

 

This same image of Franz was reprinted, often rather crudely, in American newspapers as Franz's fame began to circulate through the music world beyond Europe. The Times-Democrat of New Orleans began: "There doesn't seem to be much doubt that little Franz von Vecsey, the boy violinist over whose playing all artistic Berlin is going into ecstasies at present, is not as other 'juvenile prodigies', but really is going to cut a big figure in the musical world hereafter.  For this youngster of ten handles his three-quarter size violin with really astonishing mastery, and critics are unanimous in praising his marvelous technique, and also his interpretation of the works he plays." 

 

I've collected quite a few postcards of young Hungarian violinists and featured them here on my blog. The first was  Kun Arpad - A Violin Prodigy  from September 2011, and then Irma Surányi - A Child Violin Virtuoso from March 2013. A postcard of  Franz von Vecsey appeared in Three Boys in Sailor Suits in May 2014. For reasons unknown, every child violinist had to appear in a sailor suit, which is odd since the only music usually associated with sailors are sea shanties, hornpipes, and jigs. 

This next postcard portrait is a good example of the classic boy violinist fashion. Here Franz von Vecsey wears a dark color sailor's blouse with the broad white collar but he has no violin. Just his name in the caption identifies this boy with dark Hungarian eyes. On the card border someone added a place and date, Ostende 7/7/04 and it was also addressed to a young woman in Ostende, so this card may have been on display when Vecsey visited Ostende, and perhaps performed there, too.

Vecsey was just a few weeks past his eleventh birthday when he arrived in London in May 1904, but his name was already well-known. Child entertainers were surprisingly very common in this era, so many cities were now putting restrictions on performances of children out of a new progressive concern for protecting children from harsh work or hazardous environments. In theater work the main issues for young people were the late hours and the thick smog produced by men smoking tobacco. Franz von Vecsey's concerts were set for afternoons.

London Daily Telegraph
26 March 1904

Vecsey's repertoire already included concertos by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Henryk Wieniawski, and Henri Vieuxtemps with shorter solo pieces by Bach, Schubert, Paganini, and his teacher Jenő Hubay. To play such music by memory requires immense musical skill and focused mental concentration. That an eleven year old boy could do it so well was an astonishing thing to witness. People clamored to get tickets to hear the "Boy Wonder".

London Daily Mirror
4 May 1904

The London Daily Mirror published a review of his concert the next day. It noted that many prominent musicians came to hear Vecsey play, and "As for the rest of the audience, they were simply held spellbound by the little fellow, dressed in a white suit with blue cocks and black shoes, who played, as Joachim has said, 'like a mature artist'.
  "It is not too much to say that he is undoubtedly the most marvelous child violinist that has appeared for many years.  His tone many an adult player might envy, whilst technique was no terror for him—double stopping in harmonics and bravura passages of all kinds, he overcomes without apparent difficulty."

London Daily Mirror
4 May 1904

The Daily Mirror also ran a splendid photo of Franz von Vecsey with Dr. Joachim, looking much like a picture of grandfather with grandson. 

 

It was shortly after this that Franz von Vecsey made a recording for the Gramophone Company. Here is a YouTube music video of young Franz, age 11, playing a Carmen Fantasia, Op.3 N°3, parts 1 and 2, arranged by his teacher,  Jenő Hubay on 15 July 1904. 

      

 

 [ At the beginning of the video there is a picture of a young violinist who is not Vecsey. It is Florizel von Reuter (1890–1985), an American violin prodigy and a contemporary of Vecsey. I have photos of him, too, but that is a story for another time.]

Postcards of Franz von Vecsey became a popular souvenir in Britain that summer of 1904 when he played numerous times. This card came from the same series as the previous one and has a greeting on the bottom border: With love from Dolly 15/6/04. 

London Daily Telegraph
14 May 1904

After his first concert in London in May 1904, Franz and his parents were given a special honor of an invitation from Queen Alexandra to perform at Buckingham Palace. Playing before her Majesty and Princess Victoria, "He first gave Wieniawski's 'Faust Fantasie,' and then, at her Majesty's special request, 'Ave Maria,' by Schubert-Wilhelmj.  Some of the attendants were on the point of providing the young artist with a music-stand, and surprise was expressed when it was found that this was not necessary, as Franz plays everything from memory.  Her Majesty expressed herself in gracious terms respecting the performance.  Madame and Herr von Vecsey accompanied their son to the Palace."

Dolly sent a second postcard of Franz von Vecsey on the same day. What caught my attention was that both cards were addressed to Master Dudley Adams of "Cooinoo" in Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia, about 12 miles north of Sydney. Postage was only one penny for a red stamp of King Edward VII.

New York Times
8 January 1905

After his great success in London, Franz Vecsey prepared for a grand tour of the United States. His manager, Daniel Frohman, secured incredible fees that reportedly were $1,500 per concert, much higher than many adult instrumental virtuosos could command. The first concert was booked into New York's Carnegie Hall on Tuesday, 10 January 1905 at 8:15 PM. The program featured Henri Vieuxtemps' Violin Concerto in E; Henryk Wieniawski's Faust Fantasy; an air by Bach; and other selections. An orchestra of 60 musicians was engaged to accompany him, conducted by Nahan Franko (1861–1930), an American violinist and conductor who had once been a child prodigy himself, playing his debut concert in New York's Steinway Hall in 1869 at the age of 8.

For a tour like this, postcards were not enough, so a proper cabinet card photograph was produced. In this image clipped from a larger card mount, Franz Vecsey sits, legs crossed, on the edge of a grand ornately carved chair. I don't think his feet would touch the floor if he sat properly. He cradles his violin and looks thoughtfully to the right. The photo is not marked but since I have collected enough of his postcards, I recognized his face instantly when I spotted this on eBay. It's a rare prize in my collection.

The photographer was Pach Bros. of New York at 935 Broadway. This premier studio catered to many high society and celebrity patrons from Boston to Washington. I featured two of their large format photographs in my story from a few weeks ago, The Pierian Sodality of Harvard.

Besides New York City, Daniel Frohman booked a tour with over 30 concerts in cities like Chicago, Cleveland, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Washington D. C., Baltimore, and Boston as well as in smaller cities like Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and Indianapolis, where he celebrated his 12th birthday. Vecsey's photos showed up in advertisements, too, like this placement in an ad for the Wissner Piano Company of Brooklyn, New York. This was an era when copyrights and trademarks were not always respected, especially across international borders. So though Vecsey's fame certainly preceded his arrival, whether his manager also sold the rights to his image being used is unknown. Since Wissner pianos were announced as the instrument used on Vecsey's recitals, it seems likely there was some kind of deal.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
4 December 1904

In just a bit less than two years, Franz von Vacsy had played his violin in dozens of major cities to great acclaim. He had met and played for Kaiser Wilhelm, Czar Nicholas, Queen Alexandra, and countless members of noble families, each time usually receiving a valuable gift like a gold watch or a diamond stick pin. Now that Franz was in the United States there may have been no royalty but there were still important people who wanted to meet this talented Hungarian boy.

Washington Post
24 January 1905

In late January 1905 when Franz and his parents were in Washington, D. C. for his next concert, Franz was presented to President Theodore Roosevelt at the White House. "Young Vecsey asked 'Uncle Roosevelt' for an autograph photograph.  'You shall certainly have it,' said the President, and instructed Secretary Loeb to send one to the Raleigh, where Vecsey was stopping.  Later in the day the party went sightseeing in an automobile, and the young artist was much impressed with the beautiful buildings, especially the Capitol, where he asked the chauffeur to drive by slowly." It seems that Franz had a hobby of collecting autographs from all the famous people he met which he kept in a scrapbook album. Franz also collected postage stamps which would have interested another President Roosevelt. 

New York Tribune
6 April 1905

 

After nearly three months touring America, playing over 30 concerts for huge audiences that sometimes numbered in the thousands, Franz von Vecsey gave his farewell performance on Saturday 8 April, once again at Carnegie Hall, only this time at 2:15 in the afternoon. He would play Beethoven's violin concerto; Tartini's "Devils Trill"; and Vieuxtemps' Ballade and Polonaise assisted by the New York Symphony Orchestra under conductor Victor Herbert. At the same time the Barnum & Baily circus was starting its first show a couple of dozen blocks down 7th Avenue at the Madison Square Garden. I wonder if Vecsey's parents took him down for the second show. What boy would not want to see an automobile loop the gap in the "Dip of Death".

My last postcard of young Franz von Vecsey shows him in a chair, relaxed and holding his violin against his chest. It's how I imagine he looked in his dressing room just before going on stage, with his fingers unconsciously moving to the music.

The card was never posted and has no date but there is short message. If you read between the lines, the writer chose Vecsey's postcard because they played the violin too.

 

                             Dear Marie__
                                        After much persuasion
                            Ada finally decided to
                            accompany me home.  Charlie
                            had only just got in,
                            having waited at stage (Seacombe boat)
                            since 9:30 for A.K.  He thought
                            he had missed us so returned.
                            Mother Father Ada & Eva
                            have gone to a flower show
                            at  St. George's Hall.  So I'm all
                            alone.  I've found the
                            book you referred to I
                            think.  I will try & come
                            early on Thursday & will
                            bring it.   By the bye will you give my instrument
                                a brisk rubbing up & down  strings. 
                                  I forgot to wipe them last evening.
                                       Love to Aunt Marion, Uncle & Self.

When he left America, Franz Vecsey reportedly promised to return when he grew a beard. However though he sported a mustache as a young man I don't think he ever came back to North America as I could not find any reports of his concerts. By the summer of 1905 Franz was back in Europe and touring again to great acclaim. Later that year the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius met Vecsey and was so impressed by his talent that he dedicated a revised version of his Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 to Vecsey, who played it the following year at age 13 and would go on to play it 200 times in his career. 

Critics feared that Vecsey would burn out from too much concertizing at such a young age and lose his skill and talents as he inevitably grew older. Too many child prodigies had failed to achieve their early promise as not every talented boy wonder was destined to become the next Mozart or Mendelssohn. Yet as the boy wonder Franz Vecsey matured he overcame his critics' pessimistic predictions achieving a reputation as genuine violin virtuoso, though not without facing some difficult obstacles.

As with most artists the Great War of 1914-18 disrupted all music and culture everywhere. Vecsey was age 21 at the start of the war and a citizen of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire so he was compelled to do military service, reportedly in the Austrian flying corps. In 1918 some newspapers reported he had seriously injured his hand in an accident, ruining his music career. 

 

Vecsey apparently recovered and in the 1920s became a popular violin soloist in Europe. He married and set up a home in Venice, Italy. My last portrait postcard of Franz von Vecsey is of him as a mature artist that probably dates from the height of his post-car career in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Franz at age 30+ still shows the confidence and self-assurance that characterized his photos at age 11.

But in 1935, just when Franz was considering giving up the life of a violin soloist and taking up conducting, he was stricken with a debilitating heart condition. He went to Rome for medical care but surgery failed to help him and on 5 April 1935 Franz von Vecsey died at age 42. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Footnotes

 

 

1905 Annuaire diplomatique et consulaire de la République française
Emile Knecht, consul général
Source: Archive.org

 

I could not skip over including a bit of research I discovered on Frl. M. Knecht, the recipient of Franz Vecsey's postcard that begins this story. According to a vast 1905 French directory on diplomats and consuls, his full name was Émile Knecht and he was born in 1846. At the age of 20 he began a career in the French diplomatic service that took him to London; Cape of Good Hope, South Africa; Bangkok, Siam; Liverpool, England; Dublin, Ireland; Sunderland, England; Swansea, Wales; Düsseldorf; and then around the time he received this postcard of a boy taking a dip in the sea, M. Knecht was appointed consul général in Frankfurt, Germany. Somehow he missed taking up a positions in San Francisco and Hong Kong, but he certainly saw a lot of the world. I bet he told some good stories around the dinner table. Did he ever hear Franz Vecsey play?

 

 

The Bystander, an Illustrated Weekly
21 September 1904

In September 1904 the photo of Franz von Vecsey stepping out of the Ostende bathing machine was published in The Bystander, a British travel weekly. I recognize this youngster's expression, full of excitement and a bit of worry. That first dip into the sea is one you never forget. But we have to ask, did he leave his violin in the little shack?

Bathing machines on beach
at Ostende, Belgium 1913
Source: Wikimedia

People back in earlier times had peculiar ideas about recreation. This Bain News Service photo dates from 1913 and shows "bathers" using bathing machines at the shoreline of Ostende, Belgium. These small moveable huts were for hire and pulled by a horse and driver out into the shallow water of the resort's beach. The "bathing machine" allowed bathers to discretely change into appropriate swimming attire, though I wonder how many actually got totally wet. But I can easily imagine Franz Vecsey having a great time paddling in the sea, just like any other 10 year old kid would.

 

For more on Ostende's music, check out my story from August 2015, Music by the Seaside,  about the Orchestra of the Kursall in Ostende.

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where you have to get your feet wet this weekend.