Selma Kronold, was born in
Kraków to a family with Jewish roots. Her father was Adolph Kronold, her mother was Louise (Hirschberg) Kronold, and she was the sister of cellist
Hans Kronold (1872–1922); and a cousin of Polish pianist and composer
Moritz Moszkowski. She received her initial training in a convent, according to her own account, where she was also taught her first piano lessons. Moving to Germany, she studied with
Arthur Nikisch at the
Royal Conservatory in Leipzig and later with
Désirée Artôt at the
Conservatoire de Paris, In 1890, Kronold married with Dutch-born violinist
Jan Koert, but divorced him ten years later due to their conflicting professional careers. She worked for many different opera companies, among them the New American Opera Company, the
Damrosch German Opera,
Gustav Hinrichs Company, the
Italian Opera Company, the
Royal Opera House, and The Castle Square Opera Company among others. She retired from the stage life in 1904, shortly after engaging herself in charity work, helping thus found and establish the Catholic Oratorio Society of New York in order to bring understanding and promote oratorios in their religious ideal. She died of pneumonia on 9 October 1920 and was buried at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, US. ==Repertoire==