Denise Tolkowsky was born in
Brighton,
England, the daughter of a
Russian father and
Flemish singer and actress Anna Kennes. She studied music at the Royal Flemish Conservatory in
Antwerp, with
E. Durlet for piano,
Edward Verheyden for harmony,
Karel Candael for counterpoint and fugue and
Flor Alpaerts for composition. She married pianist
Alex de Vries and worked as a composer and concert pianist, sometimes performing in a duo with de Vries. He committed suicide in May 1964 and Tolkowsky set up Alex de Vries Fund in his honor, an organization to assist young musicians in starting their careers. Tolkowsky became director of the Flemish region of
Yehudi Menuhin's Live Music Now in 1980. She died in
Antwerp,
Belgium. ==Honors and awards==