Borghild Holmsen

Borghild Holmsen (22 October 1865 – 4 December 1938) was a Norwegian pianist, music critic and composer.

Picture of Borghild Holmsen with her signature

Borghild Holmsen was born in Kråkstad (now Ski), Akershus, Norway. When she was 7 years old, her family settled in Christiania (now Oslo). She studied piano with Agathe Backer-Grøndahl and Otto Winter-Hjelm, and continued her studies with Carl Reinecke and Salomon Jadassohn in Leipzig and Albert Becker in Berlin.

She made her debut in 1890 in Christiania,^[1] afterward touring as a concert pianist in Europe and the United States. After ending her concert career, she became a teacher at the Bergen Music Conservatory, where Harald Sæverud was one of her pupils. She wrote as a music critic for the newspapers, Bergens Aftenblad and Bergens Arbeiderblad.^[2][3]

Works

Selected works include:

• Violin Sonata, Op. 10
• Barcarolle, Op.1, No. 1
• Scherzo, Op. 1, No. 2