Evelyn Faltis

Evelyn Faltis was born Evelyne Francisca Marianna Wilhelmine Margaretha Faltis on 20 February 1887 in Trautenau (at that time Austria-Hungary, today Trutnov in the Czech Republic) into a prosperous family of Viennese background. Her musical education began during her childhood at the Assomption convent school in Paris. From 1905 to 1909, Faltis pursued formal musical studies at the Imperial and Royal Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. She studied piano with Hugo Reinhold, counterpoint with Robert Fuchs, instrumentation and related theoretical disciplines with Eusebius Mandyczewski, and later specialized in composition under Richard Heuberger. She completed her piano diploma in 1909.
Following her studies in Vienna, Faltis continued her compositional training at the Royal Conservatory in Dresden between 1909 and 1913 under Felix Draeseke and Eduard Reuß. During that time, her Phantastische Sinfonie for orchestra, Op. 2a, received the conservatory’s composition prize. Between 1913 and 1916, she continued to refine her pianistic skills through private study in Munich with the celebrated pianist Sophie Menter.
After completing her education, Faltis entered professional musical life primarily as a repetiteur and accompanist. She worked at the Stadttheater in Nuremberg and at the Court Theatre in Darmstadt before achieving a historic milestone in 1914, when she became, as far as is known, the first woman to serve as a solo repetiteur at the Bayreuth Festival. From 1924 onward, she also held a permanent position at the Städtische Oper in Berlin, where she remained active for more than a decade.
Faltis’s compositional output was concentrated largely in her years of study and early professional activity. Her early works favor large orchestral forms and include the Phantastische Sinfonie, Op. 2a, and the Piano Concerto, Op. 3. Her chamber music included two piano trios, the Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 6, Andante und Slawischer Tanz for violin and piano, and two string quartets. Vocal and sacred music became increasingly prominent in her later output.
The compositions of Evelyn Faltis were already highly acclaimed during her lifetime. For instance, an article in the Hamburger Fremdenblatt from November 11, 1927, on the topic of "Women as Composers," stated the following: "Thus, women have indeed created works in this field [music] that can withstand a stricter critical standard. It is sufficient to point to names such as Ethel Smyth, Evelyn Faltis, and Germaine Tailleferre."
Evelyn Faltis died of pneumonia on 13 May 1937 in Vienna (Austria).

In my possession is the autograph manuscript of the work "Dithyrambe und Hymne" for piano by Evelyn Faltis. The manuscript is not dated and came from the estate of pianist Elly Ney. The composition is not part of the known work cataloguea and therefore of high interest.