Verne (real name, Wurm)
Verne (real name, Wurm)
Verne (real name, Wurm), family of English pianists, all sisters. They adopted the name Verne in 1893.
(1) Mathilde Verne, b. Southampton, May 25, 1865; d. London, June 4, 1936. She studied with her parents, and then became a pupil of Clara Schumann in Frankfurt am Main. She was very successful in England, and from 1907 to 1936 gave concerts of chamber music in London. She was a renowned teacher.
(2) Alice Verne Bredt, b. Southampton, Aug. 9,1868; d. London, April 12, 1958. She was best known as a piano teacher, but she also composed pedagogical works.
(3) Adela Verne, b. Southampton, Feb. 27, 1877; d. London, Feb. 5, 1952. She studied with her sisters, and later took lessons from Paderewski in Switzerland. Returning to London, she developed a successful career, and became extremely popular as a concert player in England; also made tours in the U.S.
Bibliography
M. Verne, Chords of Remembrance (London, 1936).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire