Elisabeth Kuyper (1877 - 1953) Netherlands
- andreachamizoalber
- Aug 31, 2025
- 1 min read
Composer and conductor. In 1901, she was the first woman admitted to the Mesiterschule für Komposition to study composition. A couple of years later, in 1905, she became the first female composer to win the Mendelssohn Prize. Following this, she composed her most famous and performed work, the Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 10, which I share below along with the link to download the score.
This violin concerto premiered in 1908 with the Hochschule Orchestra, conducted by Max Bruch. Months after the premiere, Kuyper became the first woman to be appointed professor of composition and theory at the Hochschule für Musik.
Here is his Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 8. The link to download the score is below.
Due to the challenges Kuyper faced during her career, she was part of the women's liberation movement of the time. Aside from potential solo performances, professional opportunities for women were extremely limited as none of the major orchestras of the time employed women. Kuyper made a major effort to change this situation. In 1908, she formed a women's choir, and in 1910, she formed and conducted the Berlin Women's Orchestra. Later, in 1923, she founded the London Women's Symphony Orchestra, and a year later, she founded the American Women's Symphony Orchestra in New York.
It's her Ticinese Serenade for solo piano, no score.
I couldn't find any more videos of her music on YouTube, but here are the links to download scores of her other works:
Serenade, Op. 8 for orchestra
Ballade, Op. 11 for cello and piano
Trio for violin, cello and piano, Op. 13
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