Irma Sèthe

Irma Sèthe (27 April 1876–12 May 1958) was a Belgian violinist.^[1]

Irma Sèthe
Portrait of Irma Sèthe by Theo Van Rysselberghe
Background information
Born	(1876-04-27)27 April 1876 Brussels, Belgium
Died	12 April 1958(1958-04-12) (aged 81) New York, Belgium
Occupation(s)	Violinist

Biography

Irma Sèthe was introduced to the music by her mother at an early age, and during 1885, continued her violin training with the German violinist August Wilhelmj. On 1890 was admitted to the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.^[2]

In 1898, Irma Sèthe moved to Berlin with her husband, the Russian philosopher Samuel Saenger, and played in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; they had two daughters, Elisabeth and Magdalene.

In 1909, Irma Sèthe was a member of the Berliner Kammerspiel-Trio.

Irma Sèthe stopped performing in public at the beginning of the World War I. After the death of her husband in 1944, she gradually fell into madness. Living with her eldest daughter Elisabeth in New York, she died at the age of 82, in 1958.^[3]

Bibliography

• Volker Timmermann, Saenger-Sethe, Irma, Sophie Drinker Institut für muzikwissenschaftliche Frauen-und Geschlechterforschung, 2016.
• Silke Wenzel, Irma Saenger-Sethe, Musik und Gender im Internet, 2017.
• Marie Cornaz, À la redécouverte d'Eugène Ysaÿe, Turnhout, Brepols, 2019 (pp. 60-92, 286, 310).