Borghild Holmsen

Borghild Holmsen (22 October 1865 – 4 December 1938) was a Norwegian pianist, teacher, music critic and composer. She is thought to be the first Norwegian woman to perform a concert featuring only her own compositions. Early life and education Borghild Holmsen was born on 22 October 1865 in Vevelstad, Akershus to proprietor Thorvald Holmsen. When she was 7 years old, her family settled in Christiania (now Oslo). She began playing the piano at an early age and soon began composing compositions. Holmsen studied piano with Agathe Backer-Grøndahl and Otto Winter-Hjelm, and then in 1885 joined the Music Conservatory in Leipzig where she was tutored by Carl Reinecke and Salomon Jadassohn, as well as by Albert Becker in Berlin. She made her debut in 1890 in Christiania. Her first work, a violin sonata in G major, was performed at one of the conservatory’s public student concerts, which received positive attention. Despite this, she was rejected for a scholarship to further her studies. Holmsen remained in Leipzig, where she became a piano teacher. But she still continued to perform concerts during this time, including a matinee in December 1895 at the Blüthner-Saal in Berlin. Between 1890