Kato van der Hoeven
Kato van der Hoeven was a Dutch cellist who was only the second woman cellist to join the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam in 1897. She was also known for her performances with the all-female Amsterdam Trio that toured the Netherlands and England starting in 1906.
Biography
Kato was the daughter of stable owner Gerrit van der Hoeven and Johanna Catharina Marx and she first learned the piano and violin as a child before switching to the cello. Her sister Dina van der Hoeven also became a pianist who successfully toured the Netherlands and Germany.She received her music training from Willem Kes and cello lessons from Isaac Mossel and "a finishing course" from Anton Hekking.
Orchestras at that time were only beginning to admit female musicians. The Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam hired its first woman in 1890, the cellist Valborg Lagervall and it wasn't until almost ten years later, on November 16, 1897, that van der Hoeven was invited to join her there. In addition to her orchestral services, van der Hoeven was active in chamber music. During this time she was also teaching at the Stern Conservatory, in Berlin.
During the winter season of 1901–1902, van der Hoeven made a guest appearance in the Berlin Holy Cross Church with a solo program and a review of the performance by "the piano teacher" was laudatory.
We are delighted to note that in Miss van der Hoeven we met a cellist of great skill. The lady played an Adagio by Bargiel, the cantilena from the A minor Concerto by Goltermann and the Air by Bach with a full, vocal tone; there is a primordial power in her bowing, a quality that many of her fellow artists lack.