Florian ZaBach

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Born Aug. 15, 1918 in Chicago, Ill.

Died Feb. 25, 2006 in Scranton, PA

A virtuoso violin player, Florian ZaBach was at one point timed by "Believe It Or Not" as playing 12.8 notes per second during his performance of "Flight of the Bumblebee."

A popular recording artist and frequent guest on radio and television music programs in the '50s, ZaBach played a blend of classical and jazz that was immensely popular with listeners; his recording of "The Hot Canary" sold a million copies. His LPs included "Golden Strings," "Hi-Fi Holiday" and "It's Easy to Dance with Florian ZaBach."

ZaBach's television career was similarly successful. He was the featured soloist on NBC musical show "Club Embassy," and his own syndicated series was also a hit. He originally got his start in Washington, D.C., where he was pegged by bandleader Arthur Godfrey to appear often on Godfrey's show. From there, he made numerous appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Jack Paar Show" and "The Tonight Show." He also made frequent stage appearances in New York City.

ZaBach, a child prodigy, first performed with the Chicago Symphony in his hometown at the age of 12. He trained underneath his father, Florian ZaBach Sr., an Austrian native, and then at the Chicago Conservatory of Music.

Blogger Lee Harsfeld, who has written about ZaBach frequently at his blog Music You (Possibly) Won't Hear Anyplace Else, says that ZaBach bridged the gap between more traditional jazz and the music that would become rock 'n' roll. "ZaBach's brand of elegant novelty music helped carry the concert jazz tradition of Paul Whiteman and Artie Shaw into the 1950s, though with an emphasis on virtuoso solo work rather than a full orchestra."

— Todd VanDerWerff for the Los Angeles Times July 6, 2010

Two thoughts about Florian ZaBach

“

i never got to know florian zabach, but he was my late grandfather's half-brother, making florian zabach sr. my great-grandfather.

nor, in fact, did my grandpa ever get to know his half-brother. florian zabach sr. emigrated to the USA after the birth of my granddad matthias, never to return. and never acknowledging that he had a son in austria—because his wife anna feared this would make him liable for alimony payments.

from the article above i learn that florian first performed at age 12 together with the chicago symphany. that must have been in 1930. Eight years later—at a time when florian was approaching the top of his career, austria was annexed by hitler germany. the rest is history. a tale of two brothers with quite dissimilar fates.

obviously, before the advent of the internet, finding family around the world was not so easy. my granddad, a family-loving, life-affirming, and strong personality who would give his shirt off his back to anyone in need, had been trying to find his half-brother for decades. a few years before his death in 1999 at age 88, matthias managed to find out were florian lived and wrote him a letter (that i had translated for him), talking to his brother for the first time. he was so happy!

what came back was a little package containing a self-copied music cassette. the accompanying letter by florian zabach explained that unfortunately only a few such cassettes had been left to him and that he had lost everything else in a fire…

just the other day, for no obvious reason, i googled ‘florian zabach’—and was surprised to find what a successful violinist and showman he had been. that he had had contracts with some of the world’s finest record labels, his own hollywood show, and his own star on the walk of fame. yet, sadly, he did not want to have anything to do with were had come from.

fair enough. some people are afraid to face their past, particularly when they suspect that what they may find may have them reflect on the path life has taken them and on the decisions they’ve made along the way.

“does florian zabach deserve a star on the walk of fame,” you ask. probably so. but if there were a “walk of the unselfish and the loving,” that star would go to his half-brother, my granddad matthias.

gabriele berghammer
vienna, austria
may 2011

” — gabriele berghammer, May 29, 2011 at 8:59 a.m.

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