JOHANNES WOLFF - AUTOGRAPH LETTER FRAGMENT SIGNED - HFSID 154545

JOHANNES WOLFF
In this signed and handwritten piece of a letter the Dutch violinist refers to dining at Balmoral
Autograph Letter fragment signed: "Johannes Wolff", 1p, 4¼x3¾. The final page of a letter fragment, in French, translated in full: "and dine also at Balmoral/ See you soon dear Madam and [one word difficult to decipher] for you and your dear family my most sincere greetings." Johannes Wolff (1863-1931) was a Dutch violinist who was a favorite musician of both Queen Victoria and Czar Nicholas II. The child of amateur musicians, a young Wolff decided he wanted to play the violin after attending a concert featuring Henryk Wieniawski. He studied at the Rotterdam Conservatory as a young man and moved on to the Paris Conservatory. After traveling across Europe and even across the Atlantic (playing in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1893), he eventually settled down in London, in the nation where he was most popular. A year later he formed his own company, the Wolff Musical Union. He prided himself on playing unique compositions not often heard in popular classical music circles, including pieces by Charles-Marie Widor and Cecile Chaminade. From 1896 to 1898, he was a music teacher at the Guildhall School of Music in London. In 1897 he was the subject of a famous painting by American portrait artist John Singer Sargent. Several composers, Camille Saint-Saëns and Gabriel Fauré being two of the most notable, dedicated pieces to him. The letter could be referring to the Balmoral Castle in Scotland, which was purchased by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1852. However, it more likely refers to the Balmoral Hotel, which opened in 1902. Horizontal fold. Otherwise, fine condition.