Norah Drewett de Kresz (14 June 1882 – 24 April 1960) was an English‑born concert pianist and music educator who built an international career as a soloist and as a duo partner with her husband, Hungarian violinist Géza de Kresz.
Early life and education
Born Norah Drewett in Sutton, London, she pursued piano studies at the Conservatoire de Paris under Victor‑Alphonse Duvernoy, continued with Bernhard Stavenhagen in Munich, and received brief instruction from Leonid Kreutzer in Berlin.
Performance career
Drewett made her orchestral debut in Monte Carlo in January 1904. In 1905 she performed Beethoven’s piano concerto at London’s Crystal Palace, receiving praise for her intelligence and expressive power. She gave recitals in Belfast, Vienna, and Berlin in 1908, and appeared at the BBC Proms in 1913. In 1922 she contributed articles on the Berlin music scene to the London periodical Fanfare. While in Canada she performed in a piano ensemble with Ernest Seitz, Viggo Kihl, Reginald Stewart, and Alberto Guerrero (Edmonton, 1927) and participated in the debut of the Conservatory String Quartet (1929).
Collaboration with Géza de Kresz
In 1918 she married Hungarian violinist Géza de Kresz. The couple frequently performed together, touring North America after an invitation from Russian cellist Boris Hambourg in 1923 and teaching at his conservatory and the Toronto Conservatory of Music. They lived in Budapest while Géza headed the National Conservatory (1935–1947), after which they returned to North America in 1947. Their joint recital at New York’s Town Hall in 1949 was noted for its longevity as a performing partnership.
Later life and legacy
After Géza de Kresz’s death in 1959, Drewett remained in Budapest, where she died on 24 April 1960 at age 77. She and her husband are buried together in Kápolnásnyék. Archival material relating to their careers, including scrapbooks and papers, is held in the University of Toronto archives.
Personal life
The couple had two daughters.
Norah Drewett de Kresz is remembered for her contributions to early twentieth‑century piano performance and for her role in fostering transatlantic musical exchange through teaching and concert activity.