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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: kismet on Sunday 10 September 17 16:46 BST (UK)
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This is probably a long shot, but does anyone have any kind of information on Gilbert Back, an Austrian citizen, probably born around 1900. He was 1st violinist with the Berliner Philharmonic from 1st October 1925 until around 1935.
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Not sure if you have seen this already from google books www.rootschat.com/links/01kph/ which includes some potential personal details for him.
Monica
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There is a Gilbert Back [Gilbert Adolphe Dietrich Back] , born 10 Jan 1902, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
His wife Elizabeth Ruth Adler born in Frankfurt Germany in 1914. Numerous shipping entries showing for him. His occupation is given as a musician on a number of the manifests.
He applied for Naturalization in May 1947 whilst living in Santa Monica, California. His occupation showing as musican. He looks to have arrived in the US in 1946 from Turkey (I think this fits with what I read that he left the Berliner Philharmonic Orchestra and headed for Turkey?). Married Elizabeth Ruth in 1938 in Ankara, Turkey. This was given as his residence when arriving in the US in 1946.
He died in Vienna, Austria on 11 Dec 1967 from sleeping medicine poisoning. He and Elizabeth Ruth were divorced the previous year in 1966. He was cremated in Vienna and his ashes returned to his ex wife Elizabeth Ruth for burial in the US. She was living in San Diego, California at the time.
I don't think there were children from the marriage.
Monica
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The link that Monica gave you suggests that Back ended up in America.
There is a US Social Security Death Index record for a Gilbert Back, Age 65, born 10 January 1902, last place of residence San Diego, California. He died in December 1967.
Whether this is your man or not I don't know. His birth year is around the 1900 that you gave in your post.
I found the record on Family Search.
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According to Find A Grave Gilbert is buried at Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California. The plot is in Main Lawn.
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Ex-wife Elizabeth Ruth died on 26 Jan 1989. Her parents showing as Franz Adler and Else Kuttner.
Monica
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This is to thank all those people who gave me links to info about Gilbert Back. I am very grateful and now have all the information I need.
Kismet
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One more article with two photographs of Gilbert Back
https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/history/wilhelm-furtwaengler/reichsorchester/
Kevin, now in Chester
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Hello Kismet,
Discovered your message while making research on Gilbert Back.
I can also tell you he had a brother called Didier, who was a pianist.
His father was Josef Back and his mother Risa Pollak and his father
was himself the son of Moriz Back, and Antoinette née Schnabel.
I do not know what you are looking for, but I may have more pieces of information for you.
Please feel free to contact me through private messages (do not know if it even exits on this forum, just created an account to answer your message).
And I'm particularly interested if you are in anyway related to the Back family or
any family associated with it.
Best from Paris,
L.
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Gilbert Back was instrumentalist in the first section of violins of the Berlin Philharmonic from 1 October 1925 to 31 December 1935. He was a friend of the chief conductor of the orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler, an taught Furtwängler to drive a car.
After his death his widow sent back to Elisabeth Furtwängler (the conductor's widow) a lot of letters. These documents have been published in French by the Société Wilhelm Furtwängler (furtwangler.fr) which also issued some photos, especially the picture taken on the occasion of the Furtwängler's birthday (26 January 1933), showing some musicians of the orchestra, disguised, Back as little boy.
ST (Wilhelm Furtwängler Society - France)