Marguerite 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]
