Aviva Einhorn (1929-2015)
French-Israeli Conductor Aviva Einhorn, an award-winning French-Israeli musician and conductor, holds the distinction of being the first woman to conduct orchestras in Israel. Born in Antwerp, Belgium, on May 21, 1929, Einhorn demonstrated remarkable talent on the piano from the age of four and a half. However, her musical education was interrupted by the turmoil […]
Elfrida Andrée (1841-1929)
Sweden Conductor Elfrida Andrée, born on February 19, 1841, in Visby, Sweden, and passing on January 11, 1929, in Gothenburg, was a trailblazer in Swedish music. She was the first woman in Sweden to qualify as an organist (1857–1860) and the first to serve as a cathedral organist, a position she held at Gothenburg Cathedral […]
Peggy Stuart Coolidge (1913-1981)
American Conductor Peggy Stuart Coolidge was a multifaceted musician who excelled as a composer, conductor, and pianist. Later in life, she utilized her talents as a music therapist at a mental hospital in New York. Born on July 19, 1913, in Swampscott, Massachusetts, Peggy began her musical journey at the age of five with piano […]
Jane Evrard (1893-1984)
French Conductor Jane Evrard, born Jeanne Chevallier Poulet, was a French musician. She began playing the violin at the age of seven and entered the Conservatoire de Paris at twelve. By fourteen, she had won the première médaille in solfège and studied under Augustin Lefort. It was here that she met fellow student and violinist […]
Margarete Dessoff (1874-1944)
Austrian Conductor Margarete Dessoff, sometimes mistakenly spelled “Margarethe,” was born in Vienna and moved to Frankfurt am Main at the age of six when her father, Felix Otto Dessoff, became the conductor of the Frankfurt Opera House. She studied voice with Gustav Gunz and Marie Schröder-Hanfstängl (1892–97) at Dr. Hoch’s Konservatorium in Frankfurt and began […]
Carmen Campori Bulgarelli (1910-1965)
Italian Conductor Carmen Bulgarelli, known by her maiden name, later became the Marchioness Campori through her marriage to a marquis from Modena, a city with an aristocratic lineage tracing back to the 15th century. Her professional life unfolded primarily outside of Italy, as she had limited appearances in her homeland, focusing predominantly on opera. Initially […]
Antonia Brico (1902-1989)
Dutch Conductor Antonia Brico, born in the Netherlands and later a naturalized American, was a pioneering pianist and conductor, recognized as the first woman to achieve widespread acclaim as a leader of world-class symphony orchestras. Brico moved to the United States with her parents in 1908, settling in California. She graduated from high school in […]
Elisabeth Kuyper (1877-1953)
Dutch Conductor Elisabeth Kuyper was a Dutch composer and conductor associated with the Romantic movement. At the age of twelve, she began her formal musical training at the Maatschappij tot Bevordering der Toonkunst, studying under Antoon Averkamp, Louis Coenen, and Daniel de Lange. From an early age, she demonstrated a keen interest in composition. In […]