Maurice Sons

Maurice Sons, born Mozes Sons in Amsterdam in 1857, was an English violinist of Dutch origin who established a distinguished career in Europe during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He received his early musical education at the Brussels Conservatory, studying under prominent figures such as Henri Wieniawski and Jean-Baptiste Colyns, which laid a strong technical and stylistic foundation for his development as a performer.

In 1877, supported by a Dutch royal scholarship, Sons continued his training at the Krantz Conservatory in Dresden under the guidance of Eduard Rappoldi. His early professional career included a teaching position in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, from 1880 to 1885. Afterward, he moved to Glasgow, where he led the Choral Union Orchestra, taught at the city’s Athenaeum, and directed a string quartet that at one time included the violinist Carl Piening among its members.

Sons debuted in London as a soloist in 1900, performing Antonín Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, and he settled permanently in the British capital in 1903. He joined the Royal College of Music as a professor of violin, mentoring students such as Samuel Kutcher, and in 1904 became concertmaster of the Queen's Hall Orchestra. In this role he contributed significantly to the Promenade Concerts, remaining a central figure in London’s musical life for many years.

A notable cultural acknowledgment of his artistry is the 1896 portrait of him playing the violin, painted by Alma-Tadema. Sons continued his influential work in the British musical scene until his death in London in 1942.

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