Denise Tolkowsky (11 August 1918 – 9 March 1991) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and composer.

Biography

Denise Tolkowsky was born in Brighton,

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, the daughter of a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

father and

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

singer and actress Anna Kennes. She studied music at the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp, with E. Durlet for piano, Edward Verheyden for harmony, Karel Candael for counterpoint and fugue and

Flor Alpaerts Flor Alpaerts ( Antwerp, 12 September 1876 – Antwerp, 5 October 1954) was a Belgian conductor, pedagogue and composer. He graduated from the ''Vlaamse Muziekschool'' in 1901. He was artistic director of the Peter Benoit Foundation, co-direct ...

for composition. She married pianist Alex de Vries and worked as a composer and concert pianist, sometimes performing in a duo with de Vries. He committed suicide in May 1964 and Tolkowsky set up Alex de Vries Fund in his honor, an organization to assist young musicians in starting their careers. Tolkowsky became director of the Flemish region of

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

's Live Music Now in 1980. She died in Antwerp,

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Honors and awards

Honors and awards included: *International dance competition in Brussels, 1931 *International Viotti Competition in Italy, silver medal *Young Talent competition in Brussels *Ferris-Tolkowsky Prize *Anna Kennedy Prize

Works

Tolkowsky wrote for theater, orchestra, chamber ensemble, solo piano and voice. She also wrote a number of songs. Selected works include: *''Van 't kwezelke'' ballet, 1931 *''Le Jeu du Coeur'' ballet, 1939 *''People Of Earth'' ballet, 1939 *''Camp'' for mezzo soprano and chamber orchestra, text by Marcel Coole, 1939 *''Homage to Béla Bartók'' for flute, violin, piano and percussion, 1950 *''Adagio for Strings'', 1950 *''Sonatine'' for piano *''Rhythmic'' for piano *''Etudes'' for piano *''Preludes'' for piano *''Variations'' for piano *''Concerto'' for piano and orchestra, 1958 *''Variations on a Russian theme'', 1961

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolkowsky, Denise 1918 births 1991 deaths 20th-century classical composers British music educators Women classical composers English classical pianists English women pianists English classical composers 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century English composers 20th-century English women musicians Women music educators Women classical pianists 20th-century women composers 20th-century women pianists