Blanche Gerstman

Blanche Gerstman
Gerstman during a conducting class in 1947
Background information
Born	(1910-04-02)April 2, 1910 Cape Town, South Africa
Died	August 11, 1973(1973-08-11) (aged 63) Cape Town, South Africa
Genres	Chamber music, Choral music
Occupations	Composer, teacher
Instruments	Piano, double bass
Works	From the Past, Ode to South Africa

Blanche Gerstman (April 2, 1910—August 11, 1973) was a South African composer who played the piano and double bass.

Early life

Gerstman was born in Cape Town on April 2, 1910. She was raised by foster parents and took their family name when she was 12 years old.

She began studying music at the same age, working with British composer Victor Hely-Hutchinson on the topic of harmony. Her first composition was entitled Hellas, and she performed it when she was 18 in 1928.

She attended the South African College of Music and studied composition from William Henry Bell and piano from Colin Taylor. She became the University of Cape Town's first graduate in the music department.

Career

Gerstman first worked as a radio pianist for the South African Broadcasting Corporation for a decade. Beginning in the 1930s, her compositions gained popularity throughout South Africa.

In 1935, Gerstman and her peer Arnold van Wyk made their composer debuts at the Oranje Club in Cape Town.

In 1950, Gerstman became the main double bass player in the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra, but she won the Performing Rights Society Scholarship and left shortly after to travel to London in order to study under Howard Ferguson at the Royal College of Music. She returned to South Africa in 1952 and restarted work as a music teacher at her alma mater.

In 1961, Gerstman began to work at the University of Pretoria, teaching harmony and counterpoint. Two years later, she left the position to join the Durban Civic Orchestra. In 1964, she returned to the South African College of Music for a teaching position. In 1969, she rejoined the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra as a double bass player.

Later life and legacy

Gerstman died in Cape Town on August 11, 1973. She was 63. Two of her most successful and famous works were From the Past and Ode to South Africa, the latter of which was commissioned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation. It is estimated she composed around 24 songs, and at the very least 19.

References