Henriëtte Bosmans: Early Chamber Music

Featuring

Marina Solarek
Andrew Bottrill
Miriam Lowbury
Solarek Piano Trio
Henriëtte Bosmans

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Composer Biography

Bosmans was a prominent pianist who debuted with the Utrechts Stedelijk Orkest at age nineteen and frequently performed major concertos, including a notable 1936 performance of César Franck's Variations Symphoniques with Willem Mengelberg conducting.

Historical Context

During the Nazi occupation, Bosmans, as a 'half-Jewish woman', faced performance bans and relied on financial help from her friend Frieda Belinfante, who had joined the resistance, and earned money from underground house concerts.

Recording & Production

This album features first recordings of Bosmans' Sonata for Violin and Piano and Piano Trio, and the first recording of the original version of her Arietta for violin and piano.

Composition History

Bosmans' first compositions, written at age seventeen, were mostly for violin and piano, dedicated to her mother, and showed a strong influence of German Romanticism.

Composer Biography

Bosmans was knighted in the Royal Order of Orange-Nassau on June 16, 1951, shortly before her death in Amsterdam on July 2, 1952, and at least four streets in the Netherlands are named after her.

Composer Biography

Bosmans was openly bisexual and dedicated her Second Cello Concerto to Frieda Belinfante, a cellist who became her lover for seven years starting in 1921.

Composer Biography

Henriëtte Bosmans, a Dutch composer and pianist, was born in Amsterdam in 1895 to a musical family; her mother was a renowned pianist and teacher, and her father was the first cellist in the Concertgebouw Orchestra.