A DISTRAUGHT Assagay resident has offered a reward of R5 000 to anyone who can assist him get back his beloved flute stolen during a house robbery.
Tony Hind (69) said his flute is about 130 years old and is very dear to him. It was given to him by his father when he was nine years old.
“This is the only flute I have ever played and it has never let me down. In the early years ‘we’ cut our teeth in partnership at Eisteddfods when I was a student. ‘We’ played together in the South African Youth Orchestra in 1964, and in those early years when I deputised in the Durban Symphony Orchestra while still a Glenwood High learner,” said Tony.
He said his flute and piccolo were among many other items that were stolen when criminals broke into his home on Friday, 10 February while he was in Cape Town with his fiance, Pauline
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Being separated from his beloved flute has been like losing a family member. “We (Tony and his flute) have been close friends for 60 years and now my very dear friend is gone. I left school and ‘we’ became full time professionals with the Durban Symphony Orchestra, ‘we’ played in Chamber Groups and performed recitals together, what a team ‘we’ were.
“Faithfully, my flute accompanied me to the UK in 2002 and true to form ‘we’ played in orchestras both amateur and professionals and in orchestral pits for opera and ballet, and performed demanding orchestral programmes on stage together,” explained the devastated Tony.
Tony has opened a case of theft at the Hillcrest SAPS and has pleaded to anyone who can assist him to get his flute back or who may spot it at any pawn shop or scrap dealer to contact him on 074 145 4417 or email tonyhind1@aol.com.
Descriptive marking on his flute
– It is a solid silver hand made flute by flute maker Emil Ritterhausen (circa 1880) and the inscription on the flute says as much, the names of the cities Berlin and New York are included as well.
– The serial number is 4422.
– A very distinctive feature is that it has a solid gold and quite ornate lip plate.
– The flute case is a `combo` case and also contains my piccolo which bears the manufacturers name `Meyer`.
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