Tilly Koenen (25 December 1873 – 4 January 1941), born Mathilde Karoline Koenen, was a Dutch concert singer.

Tilly Koenen
A white woman in profile, facing viewer's left; her dark hair is in an updo, and she is wearing a beaded and embroidered gown, a string of pearls, and an earring.
Tilly Koenen, from a 1910 photograph.
Born
Mathilde Karoline Koenen

25 December 1873
Salatiga, Java
Died4 January 1941
The Hague
OccupationConcert singer

Early life

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Koenen was born to Dutch parents in Salatiga, Java. She studied voice and piano at the Conservatorium in Amsterdam, with Cornélie van Zanten.[1]

Career

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Koenen made her concert debut in Berlin. She worked with Constant van de Wall, performing his Maleische liederen (Malay songs).[2] In 1908 in she sang a concert of compositions by American composer Louis von Heinrich (Luella Totten) in London,[3] and a concert of songs by Max Meyer-Olbersleben in Berlin.[4] She sang at the premiere of Gustav Mahler's 8th Symphony in Munich in 1910, and in one opera, Gluck's Orfeo ed Eurydice, conducted by van Zanten.[1]

Koenen toured in the United States and Canada in 1909[5] and 1910,[6][7] and again in 1917.[8][9] She appeared at Aeolian Hall in 1917, prompting a New York Times reviewer to comment "Her voice is of the true contralto type, and as such is dark in color, rather ponderous, not easily yielding itself to the production of variety of effect of the expression of diverse emotions."[10] She sang with the Philadelphia Orchestra with Leopold Stokowski conducting.[11] She toured in the United States again in 1920.[12]

Personal life

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Koenen died in The Hague in 1941, aged 67 years.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Tilly Koenen (1873-1941)". Mahler Foundation. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  2. ^ Mak van Dijk, Henk (2013-10-04). "Constant van de Wall, a European-Javanese Composer". In Barendregt, Bart; Bogaerts, Els (eds.). Recollecting Resonances: Indonesian-Dutch Musical Encounters. BRILL. pp. 158–163. ISBN 978-90-04-25859-4.
  3. ^ "Miss Louis von Heinrich in London". Musical Courier. 57: 14. July 15, 1908.
  4. ^ "Berlin". Musical Courier. 57: 5. October 21, 1908.
  5. ^ "Tilly Koenen". The Kansas Teacher. 2: 17. October 1915.
  6. ^ Anthony, Walter (1910-03-14). "Holland Singer Charms Hearers". The San Francisco Call. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Laundry Looks Like the Best Business Investment in Dirty America". Star Tribune. 1910-02-20. p. 21. Retrieved 2020-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Tilly Koenen Returns to America". The Musical Monitor. 6: 101. October 1916.
  9. ^ "Tilly Koenen, Queen Among Lieder Singers". The Musical Monitor. 6: 281. February 1917.
  10. ^ "TILLY KOENEN'S RECITAL.; Dutch Lieder Singer Heard in Aeolian Hall". The New York Times. 1917-04-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  11. ^ "Tilly Koenen". The Musical Monitor. 6: 250. January 1917.
  12. ^ "Dutch Contralto Gives Recital in Aeolian Hall". New-York Tribune. 1920-04-23. p. 13. Retrieved 2020-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.