Rosy Wertheim (19 February 1888 – 27 May 1949) was a Dutch pianist, music educator and composer.

Biography

Rosalie Marie Wertheim was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

to parents John and Adriana Rosa Gustaaf Wertheim Enthoven. Her father was a banker and Rosalie attended a French boarding school in Neuilly, where she took piano lessons. She studied piano with Ulfert Schults and harmony and counterpoint with Bernard Zweers and Sem Dresden. In 1921 she took the state exam in piano and graduated from the Nederlandse Toonkunstenaars Vereniging. From 1921 to 1929, she taught at the Amsterdam Music Lyceum, composed songs and choral works and conducted children's and women's choirs. In 1929 Wertheim moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where she lived for six years, composing music and writing for the Amsterdam newspaper ''Het Volk'' on the Parisian music scene, while studying composition and instrumentation from the composer

Louis Aubert Louis François Marie Aubert (19 February 1877 – 9 January 1968) was a French composer. Biography Born in Paramé, Ille-et-Vilaine, Louis Aubert was a child prodigy. His parents, recognizing their son's musical talent, sent him to Paris to re ...

. In 1935 she moved to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where she studied counterpoint with

Karl Weigl Karl Ignaz Weigl (6 February 1881 – 11 August 1949) was a History of the Jews in Austria, Jewish Austrian composer and pianist, who later became a Naturalization, naturalized American citizen in 1943. Biography Weigl was born in Vienna, ...

. In 1936 she traveled to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to give lectures and arrange performance of her works. In 1937, just prior to the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she returned to

. During the German Occupation, Wertheim gave secret concerts in a cellar where she played music by banned

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

composers. After September 1942, she went into hiding to escape the Jewish deportations. After the war, Rosy Wertheim taught at the Music School in Laren, but contracted a serious illness and died May 27, 1949, in

Laren Laren may refer to: Places * Laarne, municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders, earlier referenced as Laren * Laren, Gelderland, village in the Dutch municipality of Lochem * Laren, North Holland, municipality and town in the N ...

, the Netherlands.

Works

Wertheim composed over ninety works, and her compositions were described as "cheerful, neo-classical and at times playful." Selected works include: *Lanceloet; Drie voorspelen (for string orchestra, undated) *Trois Morceaux for flute and piano, 1939 *Trois Chansons for soprano, flute and harp, 1939 *Cello Sonata (around 1921) *Concerto per pianoforte e orchestra (1940) * Divertimento for chamber orchestra (undated) *Six Morceaux for piano solo (undated) *Trio for flute, clarinet and bassoon (undated) *Quatuor à cordes (undated)

External Links

Publisher: Donemus Publishing BV (link: https://donemus.nl/composer/rosy-wertheim/)

Recordings

Lanceloet - conducted by Shelley Katz (link: https://suppressed-music.com/rosy-wertheim-lanceloet-drie-voorspelen/)

References

JOURNAL ARTICL
'"Never Call Us Lady Composers": Gendered Receptions in the New York Composers' Forum, 1935-1940' by Melissa J. De Graaf_American Music_ Vol. 26, No. 3 (Fall, 2008)
pp. 277-308 (32 pages) Blog Article
"Rosy Wertheim: Composer, Teacher, Anti-Nazi Activist" by Emily E Hogstead, Song of the Lark Blog, Feb. 13, 2019.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wertheim, Rosy 1888 births 1949 deaths Dutch classical composers Dutch women classical composers 20th-century Dutch Jews Dutch classical pianists Jewish women composers Jewish Dutch musicians Musicians from Amsterdam Dutch women classical pianists 20th-century Dutch classical pianists 20th-century women pianists 20th-century Dutch composers 20th-century Dutch women composers