Early reviews from summer spas speak of her beauty rather than vivid talent. Mahler's daughter, Anna, described her to me as a vulnerable, lovable girl. Arnold launched her in Vienna with the Bach double concerto. Vasa P rihoda was as celebrated in central Europe as Heifetz was in America, a Czech violinist who could seemingly play anything twice as fast as anyone else. With Alfred's blessing, he married Alma in 1930 - only to discover that she could neither boil an egg nor make a bed.
Top violinists require a high level of spousal maintenance.
He divorced her in 1935, leaving Alma devastated. She fell in love with Heini Salzer, the tall, blond son of a paper manufacturer. He was eight years her junior and extremely shy. When Austria merged with Hitler's Germany in March 1938, their relationship was put in jeopardy. Alma, with help from Sir Adrian Boult, brought the aged Arnold to London.