Marguerite Wolff

Marguerite Wolff OBE (1919–2011) was a British pianist.

Marguerite Agnes Rachel Wolff was born in the West Ham area of London on 17 February 1919, the daughter of Walter and Selina (known as Nina) Wolff; her parents were also musical.[1][2][3] She studied under Gertrude Azulay and later Solomon Cutner and Louis Kentner.[4]

Her orchestral debut was made when she was just 15, under Sir John Barbirolli.[4] During World War II, she performed more than 1,000 concerts for troops around the UK, under the auspices of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA).[1][5][6] She was made music professor at Trinity College of Music when only 21.[7]

She gave up her career for marriage and to raise a family (of two daughters) but resumed public performances after being widowed while only 35, in 1964.[4] She subsequently made the premiere recording of Arthur Bliss's Piano Sonata, under the composer's supervision.[4] While touring the US in 1974, she gave the world premiere of his Wedding Suite.[5] Malcolm Williamson's Fourth Piano Concerto was written for her, in 1994.[4]

She was made an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College of Music in 1999[5] and appeared as a "castaway" on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 15 November 2002,[1] and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) the same year.[4] She was a member of West London Synagogue.[7]

Wolff died on 25 May 2011 aged 92.[4] She had never remarried.[4]

Biography

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Marguerite Wolff". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  2. ↑ General Register Office index of births registered in January, February and March, 1919 - Name: Wolff, Marguerite A R. Mother's Maiden Name: Abrahams District: West Ham Volume: 4A Page: 545.
  3. ↑ Marguerite Wolff: Pianist acclaimed for her interpretations of Chopin and Liszt
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Marguerite Wolff". The Daily Telegraph. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Wingate, Jonathan (29 June 2011). "Marguerite Wolff: Pianist acclaimed for her interpretations of Chopin and Liszt". The Independent. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  6. ↑ Macleod-Miller, Peter (23 June 2011). "Marguerite Wolff obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  7. 1 2 Lipman, Jennifer (27 May 2011). "Concert pianist Marguerite Wolff mourned". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
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