Borghild Holmsen (22 October 1865 – 4 December 1938) was a Norwegian pianist, teacher, music critic and composer. She is thought to be the first Norwegian woman to perform a concert featuring only her own compositions.

Early life and education

Borghild Holmsen was born on 22 October 1865 in Vevelstad, Akershus to proprietor Thorvald Holmsen. When she was 7 years old, her family settled in Christiania (now Oslo). She began playing the piano at an early age and soon began composing compositions. Holmsen studied piano with Agathe Backer-Grøndahl and

Otto Winter-Hjelm Otto Winter-Hjelm (8 October 1837 – 3 May 1931) was a Norwegian musician, conductor, writer, composer and music critic. Life and career Otto Winther-Hjelm was born in Christiana (Oslo), and studied in Leipzig and Berlin. During his career, he ...

, and then in 1885 joined the

Music Conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger i ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

where she was tutored by

Carl Reinecke Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (23 June 182410 March 1910) was a German composer, conductor, and pianist in the mid-Romantic era. Biography Reinecke was born in what is today the Hamburg district of Altona; technically he was born a Dane, as u ...

and

Salomon Jadassohn Salomon Jadassohn (13 August 1831 – 1 February 1902) was a German pianist, composer, and teacher at the Leipzig Conservatory. Life Jadassohn was born to a Jewish family living in Breslau, the capital of the Prussian province of Silesia. This ...

, as well as by Albert Becker in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. She made her debut in 1890 in Christiania. Her first work, a violin sonata in G major, was performed at one of the conservatory's public student concerts, which received positive attention. Despite this, she was rejected for a scholarship to further her studies. Holmsen remained in Leipzig, where she became a piano teacher. But she still continued to perform concerts during this time, including a matinee in December 1895 at the Blüthner-Saal in

. Between 1890 and 1906, Holmsen submitted eight scholarship applications, which were all rejected.

Career

In 1898, she gave a composition evening in Christiania, where she was performed her own compositions, and was probably the first Norwegian woman to do so. Holmsen also performed composition evenings in Leipzig and

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

as well as another in Christiania in 1904. Holmsen also toured as a concert pianist in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. After ending her concert career, she became a teacher at the Bergen Music Conservatory, where

Harald Sæverud Harald Sigurd Johan Sæverud (17 April 1897 – 27 March 1992) was a Norwegian composer. He is most known for his music to Henrik Ibsen's ''Peer Gynt'', '' Rondo Amoroso'', and the ''Ballad of Revolt'' (). Sæverud wrote nine symphonie ...

was one of her pupils. She also worked as a music critic for the newspapers, '' Bergens Aftenblad'' and ''

Bergens Arbeiderblad ''Bergensavisen'' (lit. "the Bergen newspaper"), usually shortened to ''BA'', is the second largest newspaper in Bergen, Norway. The paper is published in tabloid format. The newspaper's webpage ba.no is Bergen's largest local newspaper webpage. ...

''. She also a contributor to the establishment of the Bergen Music Library.

Later life and death

In 1911, she performed a lecture on

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

at the 1000th anniversary celebration of

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

. Holmsen also received the Officier d'Akademie. Holmsen died on 4 December 1938 in Bergen, at the age of 73.

Works

Selected works include: *Violin Sonata, Op. 10 *Barcarolle, Op.1, No. 1 *Scherzo, Op. 1, No. 2

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmsen, Borghild 1865 births 1938 deaths 19th-century Norwegian classical composers 20th-century Norwegian classical composers Norwegian women classical composers Norwegian classical pianists Norwegian music critics Norwegian women music critics Norwegian women non-fiction writers Norwegian music educators Norwegian women classical pianists People from Akershus Norwegian women music educators 20th-century Norwegian women composers 19th-century Norwegian women composers People from Ski, Norway 20th-century Norwegian people 19th-century women pianists 20th-century Norwegian women pianists University of Music and Theatre Leipzig alumni