Hilda Sehested (1858 - 1936) Denmark
- andreachamizoalber
- Sep 2
- 2 min read
Composer born in Funen, Denmark. She studied music in Copenhagen and later in Paris. She also studied organ and composition and began writing music at age 30.
To begin, I'd like to share the third movement of her Piano Sonata. You can download the full score at the following link:
After her mother's death in 1894, Sehested moved to Copenhagen to live with her sister Thyra. There she became engaged to archaeologist and museum director Henry Petersen, but he died before they could marry. Distraught by his death, Sehested worked for a time as a nurse and then as a church organist, before finally returning to composing. She died in Copenhagen.
I'm sharing the third of her four Fantasies for violin and piano. The complete score is also available :) and if you'd like to listen to the other Fantasies, they're also on YouTube.
I found little information about Hilda. Her opera, Agnete og Havmanden, is available on IMSLP, which she presented in 1913 to the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen ( Det Kongelige Teater ), together with a libretto by Sophus Michaëlis. Although accepted, it was never performed, as the outbreak of the First World War and the theatre's financial problems prevented its staging. It is a one-act opera, divided into three scenes with no curtains in between. The story follows a version of the popular Danish ballad "Agnete og Havmanden" (Agnete and the Sire), inspired by Danish nature. Sehested employed a late Romantic musical language, with Impressionist influences. The orchestra plays an active role, frequently using counterpoint to enhance the atmosphere. After remaining unpublished for a century, the opera finally had its concert premiere in October 2014, at the Funen Opera (Den Fynske Opera ) in Odense and Sonderborg. This achievement was made possible through the work of the Hilda Sehested Committee, which saved and prepared the original handwritten score.
The score is here:
And to finish with a bit more of her music, listen to her Suite for Trumpet and Piano, which she dedicated to the principal trumpeter of the Royal Danish Orchestra, Thorvald Hansen, and stands out for its refined and creative contrapuntal style. The score is a must-buy.
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