Emmy Heim (Emilie Heim: 10 September 1885 – 13 October 1954) was an Austrian

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

singer and voice teacher. In her later career she lived in England and Canada.

Life

Early life and career

Heim was born in Vienna in 1885. She studied singing there with her mother and with Frances Mütter. She made her debut in 1911 at the Bösendorfer-Saal, and became well known as a concert singer in Austria, appearing many times at the Wiener Konzerthaus, and making tours in Germany, France and Switzerland."Emmy Heim"
'' The Canadian Encyclopedia'', 12 December 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2021."Heim, Emmy (eig. Emilie, gesch. Rheinhardt, verh. Singer)"
''Oesterreiches Musiklexikon Online''. Retrieved 7 March 2021. She performed songs by Franz Schubert and

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

, and also sang contemporary works by

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

and others. In 1915 she gave the first performance of Schoenberg's songs "Waldsonne" (Op. 2 No. 4) and "Verlassen" (Op. 6 No. 4). She sang in large orchestral works, and took part in Schoenberg's Society for Private Musical Performances in 1919. In 1915 Heim married the writer ; through him she met well known writers including

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...

and Hugo von Hofmannsthal. In 1916 Oskar Kokoschka made a

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

of her. In 1921 she married the architect . They separated after a few years of marriage. They had a son, Michael; two further children died in childhood."Emmy Heim"
Royal College of Music. Retrieved 6 March 2021.

In England and Canada

Heim made her debut in England in 1929, and moved to London in the early 1930s. She oocasionally returned to Vienna to give recitals; she also maintained a singing studio in Salzburg where she taught during summers. In 1934, visiting her brother in Canada, she met Sir Ernest MacMillan, which led to an informal concert, and a subsequent concert debut at Hart House Theatre in Toronto later that year. She then spent a few months each year in Canada until 1939, teaching and giving recitals. During the Second World War she lived in England. She sang at Red Cross hospitals and in military camps; she gave concert recitals in London and was a guest lecturer at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. After the war she moved to Canada, and taught at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Her pupils included Frances James, Jan Simons and

Lois Marshall Lois Catherine Marshall, CC (January 29, 1924 – February 19, 1997) was a Canadian soprano. Her husband, Weldon Kilburn, had been her early coach and piano accompanist. Early life and studies; awards Born in Toronto, Ontario, Marshall "began ...

. Heim died in Toronto in 1954.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heim, Emmy 1885 births 1954 deaths Musicians from Vienna Austrian sopranos Voice teachers Austrian expatriates in the United Kingdom Austrian expatriates in Canada