Denise Tolkowsky archives

Collection

Scope and content:: At the time of writing, only a fraction of this fonds has been described. Apart from correspondence and manuscripts, it contains various other types of documents.

Administrative/biographical history:: Denise Tolkowsky (1918-1991), already a gifted musical talent at an early age, studied piano at the conservatory in Antwerp. During the Second World War she was able to go into hiding in Ghent together with her husband, the pianist and author Alex De Vries. Tolkowsky became the musical director of the Belgische Balletten (1947-1949) after the war; she was also a composer and (musical) journalist. After the suicide of her husband, she created (in 1965) the Fonds Alex De Vries, designed to help young musicians. Through this foundation more than 1000 musicians would eventually be supported. Tolkowsky also created the Prijs De Vries-Tolkowsky, awarded to the highest scoring student of piano at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Antwerp. Her commitment for the organisation Live Music Now, founded by Yehudi Menuhin, dates back to 1979; from 1980 onwards she became the director of its Flemish section. The oeuvre of Denise Tolkowsky is varied. She composed pieces for piano and large orchestras as well as vocal music, chamber music and a number of ballets. (L. Alaerts, Tolkowsky, Denise, available on http://www.svm.be/content/tolkowsky-denise?display=biography; J.-P. Schreiber, “Tolkowsky, Abraham”, in J.-P. Schreiber, Dictionnaire biographique des Juifs de Belgique. Figures du judaïsme belge, XIXe-XXe siècles, Brussel, De Boeck, 2002, pp. 339.

Subject terms:: Correspondence; Holocaust; Holocaust--Survivors; Manuscripts; Music; Music--Composers; Music--Musicians; Personal records; Professions; Professions--Journalists

Finding aids:: The majority of the fonds is currently being reordered. Some folders are described in the Agrippa database of the Letterenhuis.