Amaryllis Fleming
Encyclopedia
Amaryllis Marie-Louise Fleming (10 December 1925 – 27 July 1999) was a British cello
performer and teacher.
by his mistress Eve Fleming, mother of the writers Peter Fleming and Ian Fleming
by her late husband, although most of her life she was raised as the adopted daughter of Eve Fleming as a pretence to hide her illegitimacy and only discovered her true parentage when she was in her twenties.
She attended the Royal College of Music
in 1943. She established herself throughout the 1950s, winning the prestigious Queen's Prize in 1952, making her debut the following year at the Proms, the annual classical music series at London's Royal Albert Hall
, and playing with notable musicians throughout Europe.
Ms. Fleming became a professor at the Royal College of Music.
in a film called Connecting Rooms, in which the Hollywood star played a cellist.
Her playing career ended in 1993 following a stroke, but she continued to teach.
She died unmarried in 1999.
Ms. Fleming died peacefully in a hospital at the age of 73, as reported by the Associated Press. The Times reported that "she never became complacent. She sought out the best teachers in Europe and willingly experimented with many techniques, including practicing naked in front of the mirror." The Daily Telegraph said friends often remarked: "Men fell in heaps around her."
Her half-brother Ian Fleming
, in one of his James Bond
short stories "The Living Daylights", has Bond musing about a cellist he observes from his sniper's position: "There was something almost indecent in the idea of that bulbous, ungainly instrument between her splayed thighs. Of course Suggia
had managed to look elegant, and so did that girl Amaryllis somebody. But they should invent a way for women to play the damned thing side-saddle."
In March 2009 the concert hall of the Royal College of Music, following refurbishment, was re-named the "Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall" in her honour.
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
performer and teacher.
Early life and education
She was the illegitimate daughter of the painter Augustus JohnAugustus John
Augustus Edwin John OM, RA, was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a short time around 1910, he was an important exponent of Post-Impressionism in the United Kingdom....
by his mistress Eve Fleming, mother of the writers Peter Fleming and Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
by her late husband, although most of her life she was raised as the adopted daughter of Eve Fleming as a pretence to hide her illegitimacy and only discovered her true parentage when she was in her twenties.
She attended the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
in 1943. She established herself throughout the 1950s, winning the prestigious Queen's Prize in 1952, making her debut the following year at the Proms, the annual classical music series at London's Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, and playing with notable musicians throughout Europe.
Ms. Fleming became a professor at the Royal College of Music.
Later life and death
In 1970, she stood in for Bette DavisBette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
in a film called Connecting Rooms, in which the Hollywood star played a cellist.
Her playing career ended in 1993 following a stroke, but she continued to teach.
She died unmarried in 1999.
Ms. Fleming died peacefully in a hospital at the age of 73, as reported by the Associated Press. The Times reported that "she never became complacent. She sought out the best teachers in Europe and willingly experimented with many techniques, including practicing naked in front of the mirror." The Daily Telegraph said friends often remarked: "Men fell in heaps around her."
Her half-brother Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
, in one of his James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
short stories "The Living Daylights", has Bond musing about a cellist he observes from his sniper's position: "There was something almost indecent in the idea of that bulbous, ungainly instrument between her splayed thighs. Of course Suggia
Guilhermina Suggia
Guilhermina Augusta Xavier de Medim Suggia Carteado Mena, known as Guilhermina Suggia, was a Portuguese cellist. She studied in Germany with Pablo Casals, and built an international reputation. She spent many years living in England, where she was particularly celebrated...
had managed to look elegant, and so did that girl Amaryllis somebody. But they should invent a way for women to play the damned thing side-saddle."
In March 2009 the concert hall of the Royal College of Music, following refurbishment, was re-named the "Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall" in her honour.