A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Neruda

by George Grove

NERUDA. A distinguished family of violinists. According to ^[1]Dlabacz, the founder was Jakob, who belonged to Rossicz, near Prague, and died Feb. 19, 1732. He left two sons; first, Johann Chrysostom, born at Rossicz December 1, 1705, learnt music at Prague, became famous on the violin, and took orders at the Præmonstratensian convent there, a few months after his father's death; became choir-master of the convent, and died December 2, 1763. The next brother, Johann Baptist Georg, was first at Prague, and then, for thirty years, at the Elector's Chapel at Dresden, where he died in 1780, aged 73, leaving a mass of compositions behind him, and two sons, Ludwig and Anton, both chamber musicians to the Elector of Dresden.

Another member of the Neruda family was Josef, organist of the Cathedral at Brtinn, in Moravia, who was born in 1807, and died Feb. 18, 1875. He had five children, Victor, Amalie, Wilhelmine, born March 21, 1840, Marie and Franz. Amalie adopted the P.F., and made no important career; Franz became a cellist. Wilhelmine began to play the violin almost as soon as she could walk, became a pupil of Jansa, and made her first appearance, with her sister, in the winter of 1846 at Vienna, where she excited much astonishment for the extraordinary power of her bow, and her great execution, notwithstanding the smallness of her hands, and the deep sentiment of her cantiléne. (Hanslick.) From Vienna the family journeyed northwards, visiting Leipzig, Berlin, Breslau, Hamburg, and other cities. In London, Wilhelmine made an appearance at the Philharmonic, on June 11, 1849, in a concerto of De Beriot's. They returned immediately to the Continent, and passed several years in travelling, chiefly in Russia. In 1864 Mlle. Neruda found herself in Paris, where she played at the Pasdeloup Concerts, the Conservatoire, etc., and awakened an extravagant enthusiasm. At this time she married Ludwig Normann, a Swedish musician, and was henceforth known as Mad. Normann-Neruda. In 1869 she again visited London, played at the Philharmonic on May 17, and was with some difficulty induced, by the entreaties of Vieuxtemps, to remain till the winter, when she took the first violin at the series of Monday Popular Concerts before Christmas, and at once made her mark. From that time she has been in England for each winter and spring season, playing at the Popular Concerts, the Philharmonic, the Crystal Palace, Mr. Charles Halle's Recitals and Manchester Concerts, etc., etc., and always with increasing power and refinement, and increasing appreciation by the public. [App. p.730 "on July 26, 1888 she married Sir Charles Hallé."]

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1. Künstler-Lexicon für Böhmen.