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Wilma Neruda
Wilhelmine Maria Franziska Neruda, also known as Wilma Norman-Neruda and Wilma, Lady Hallé, was a Czech virtuoso violinist, chamber musician, and teacher.
Born in Brno (Brünn), Moravia, then part of the Austrian Empire, Neruda came from a musical family. Her great-great-grandfather was the noted Bohemian composer Johann Baptist Georg Neruda (1708–1780), and her father, Josef Neruda (1807–1875),[citation needed] was the organist of the cathedral of Brno. Her father taught her piano, yet she desired to play the violin. At the time, the violin was considered better suited for men, and therefore it was uncommon for women to study the violin. Josef caught his daughter playing on her older brother's violin in secret, and was so surprised at her natural ability that he allowed her to study violin instead.
Neruda, like many other influential musicians of the 19th century, was a child prodigy. Several of her siblings, including Maria Neruda and Franz Xaver Neruda, were also child prodigies in their own right, and pursued professional musical careers in adulthood. During her career as a child prodigy, Neruda's birth year was reported in different years, between 1838 and 1840. Lying about the age of a child musician wasn't uncommon; the appearance of being younger made their talents seem more impressive. Recently, Encyclopedia of Brno History reports the date of birth 29 March 1838, according to her home law document and the record in the parish registry.
The family moved to Vienna, where she studied with Leopold Jansa (1795–1875), a professor at the University of Vienna. Jansa apparently overheard Wilma playing the violin while visiting the Neruda household and insisted she study violin with him, despite her age and gender. She made her first public appearance as a solo violinist in Vienna at the age of seven, playing a violin sonata by Johann Sebastian Bach. The talented Neruda children began touring Europe performing programs of chamber music. These concerts were received with considerable enthusiasm, and audiences especially favored Wilma's technical facilities and musical maturity. Around the age of 11, Neruda made her solo debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, performing a violin concerto by Charles August de Bériot.
Neruda married Swedish musician Ludvig Norman (1831–1885) in Stockholm in 1864 and had two sons, Franz Ludvig and Felix Wilhelm Waldemar. Their marriage would unfortunately prove to be an unhappy one; although, as a devout Catholic, Neruda did not believe in divorce. As their relationship further deteriorated, Neruda moved to London. The remainder of their marriage would be spent apart, until Ludvig Norman's death in 1885.
Following the death of her first husband in 1885, Neruda married the German-English pianist and conductor Charles Hallé (1819–1895) in 1888. The two had met and performed together years prior on various chamber music tours, and stayed in regular correspondence. When he was knighted later in 1888, Wilma Neruda adopted the title Lady Hallé. Neruda's second marriage would be happy, but unfortunately short. Charles and Lady Hallé toured as a piano and violin duo with great success, in Europe, South Africa and Australia.
Throughout her life, Wilma Neruda was an avid chamber musician. Following some encouragement from Henri Vieuxtemps, she joined a Monday Popular Concert series in London with a string quartet, where she led from the first violin position except for when her lifelong friend Joseph Joachim was visiting and took this position.
Tragedy would strike Neruda's life at the end of the 19th century. In 1895, shortly after returning to London following a tour in South Africa with Lady Hallé, Charles Hallé died suddenly. He was internationally acclaimed, and his death was considered a great loss, especially to the British public. The British government gifted Lady Hallé a Palazzo in Asolo, Italy, where she moved to live with her son, Ludvig, who was an alpinist. Yet again, a sudden and tragic death would affect Neruda: Ludvig died in a tragic accident in 1898 while climbing in the Dolomites. Despite the loss of her second husband and son, she embarked on a tour in the United States and Canada the year following Ludvig's death in 1899 and reportedly wore black during her performances there, as a tribute to her late son.
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Wilma Neruda
Wilhelmine Maria Franziska Neruda, also known as Wilma Norman-Neruda and Wilma, Lady Hallé, was a Czech virtuoso violinist, chamber musician, and teacher.
Born in Brno (Brünn), Moravia, then part of the Austrian Empire, Neruda came from a musical family. Her great-great-grandfather was the noted Bohemian composer Johann Baptist Georg Neruda (1708–1780), and her father, Josef Neruda (1807–1875),[citation needed] was the organist of the cathedral of Brno. Her father taught her piano, yet she desired to play the violin. At the time, the violin was considered better suited for men, and therefore it was uncommon for women to study the violin. Josef caught his daughter playing on her older brother's violin in secret, and was so surprised at her natural ability that he allowed her to study violin instead.
Neruda, like many other influential musicians of the 19th century, was a child prodigy. Several of her siblings, including Maria Neruda and Franz Xaver Neruda, were also child prodigies in their own right, and pursued professional musical careers in adulthood. During her career as a child prodigy, Neruda's birth year was reported in different years, between 1838 and 1840. Lying about the age of a child musician wasn't uncommon; the appearance of being younger made their talents seem more impressive. Recently, Encyclopedia of Brno History reports the date of birth 29 March 1838, according to her home law document and the record in the parish registry.
The family moved to Vienna, where she studied with Leopold Jansa (1795–1875), a professor at the University of Vienna. Jansa apparently overheard Wilma playing the violin while visiting the Neruda household and insisted she study violin with him, despite her age and gender. She made her first public appearance as a solo violinist in Vienna at the age of seven, playing a violin sonata by Johann Sebastian Bach. The talented Neruda children began touring Europe performing programs of chamber music. These concerts were received with considerable enthusiasm, and audiences especially favored Wilma's technical facilities and musical maturity. Around the age of 11, Neruda made her solo debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, performing a violin concerto by Charles August de Bériot.
Neruda married Swedish musician Ludvig Norman (1831–1885) in Stockholm in 1864 and had two sons, Franz Ludvig and Felix Wilhelm Waldemar. Their marriage would unfortunately prove to be an unhappy one; although, as a devout Catholic, Neruda did not believe in divorce. As their relationship further deteriorated, Neruda moved to London. The remainder of their marriage would be spent apart, until Ludvig Norman's death in 1885.
Following the death of her first husband in 1885, Neruda married the German-English pianist and conductor Charles Hallé (1819–1895) in 1888. The two had met and performed together years prior on various chamber music tours, and stayed in regular correspondence. When he was knighted later in 1888, Wilma Neruda adopted the title Lady Hallé. Neruda's second marriage would be happy, but unfortunately short. Charles and Lady Hallé toured as a piano and violin duo with great success, in Europe, South Africa and Australia.
Throughout her life, Wilma Neruda was an avid chamber musician. Following some encouragement from Henri Vieuxtemps, she joined a Monday Popular Concert series in London with a string quartet, where she led from the first violin position except for when her lifelong friend Joseph Joachim was visiting and took this position.
Tragedy would strike Neruda's life at the end of the 19th century. In 1895, shortly after returning to London following a tour in South Africa with Lady Hallé, Charles Hallé died suddenly. He was internationally acclaimed, and his death was considered a great loss, especially to the British public. The British government gifted Lady Hallé a Palazzo in Asolo, Italy, where she moved to live with her son, Ludvig, who was an alpinist. Yet again, a sudden and tragic death would affect Neruda: Ludvig died in a tragic accident in 1898 while climbing in the Dolomites. Despite the loss of her second husband and son, she embarked on a tour in the United States and Canada the year following Ludvig's death in 1899 and reportedly wore black during her performances there, as a tribute to her late son.
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