Marie Hall

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Marie Hall (April 8, 1884 - 11 November 1956) was an English violinist.

She was born Mary Paulina Hall in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. She received her first lessons from her father, who was a harpist in the orchestra of the Carl Rosa Opera Company. She also studied with a local teacher, Hildegarde Werner. When she was nine, Émile Sauret heard her and was instrumental in having her sent to the Royal Academy of Music in London. She also received instruction from Edward Elgar in 1894; from August Wilhelmj in London in 1896; from Max Mossel in Birmingham in 1898; and from Professor Kruse in 1900. In 1901, upon the advice of Jan Kubelík, she went to Otakar Ševčík in Prague.

She played for the first time at Prague in November 1902; Vienna in January, 1903; and made her London debut on February 16, 1903, scoring a success in all these places.

She possessed a technique which she believed was entirely due to Ševčík's teaching. While she appeared to be not very strong physically, she proved herself strong enough to engage upon long tours and perform exacting programs without fatigue.

Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote The Lark Ascending for Marie Hall, and dedicated it to her. She gave the first public performance at the Queen's Hall under Adrian Boult in 1921. She played the Viotti Stradivarius, which is now among the exhibited instruments in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

This article is based on a text from the Etude magazine, prior to 1923, that is in the public domain.