JOHANNES WOLFF - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 154539

JOHANNES WOLFF
Handwritten letter from the classical violinist requesting permission to visit the recipient in the morning
Autograph Letter signed: "Johannes Wolff", in black ink, 1p, 4½x7. To "Dear Madam". In French, translated in full: "Grant me permission to come tomorrow morning at 9:30 (Wednesday)/ I hope that you and the young lady are doing well and in anticipation of the pleasure of seeing you, please accept dear Madam my sincere greetings/ [signature]/ Tuesday". 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 those ofCharles-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. Lightly toned. Several vertical and horizontal folds. Left edge irregular. Otherwise, fine condition.