Life

Andrée Bonhomme was born in Maastricht

Maastricht

Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...

 and studied music theory and composition at the Maastricht Gielen Music Lyceum with Henri Hermansat and at The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

. She received a teaching certificate in 1927 and made her debut as a pianist and composer with the Maastricht Municipal Orchestra in 1928. From 1928-40 she took summer courses with Darius Milhaud

Darius Milhaud

Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

.

After completing her studies, Bonhomme worked as a composer and as a pianist with the Maastricht Orchestra, and in 1932 took a position teaching music theory and piano at the Heerlen music school. Bonhomme wrote a number of works and songs on French texts, but her career declined during the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 as she refused to sign a "non-Jewish declaration". She was forced to resign from her orchestra position, and performance of her works was restricted to house concerts. In 1972 she received a royal honor. She died in Brunssum

Brunssum

Brunssum is a municipality and a town in the province of Limburg, the Netherlands. Brunssum was formerly a center of coal mining in the Netherlands and there are a few active mines remaining in the area...

, and her papers are housed in the Dutch Institute of Music in The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

.

Works

Bonhomme composed 51 works from 1920-1955. Selected works include:

• Drie schetsen, 1928
• Pièce en forme de Sonate for tenor saxophone and piano
• Quatre Melodies Tristan Klingsor, 1955
• Sheherazade, song cycle, 1960
• La Flute de jade
• Chansons de flûte
• Berceuse
• Le tombeau d’Antar