{{short description|American artist, singer, composer and teacher (1887–1971)}} {{Infobox artist | name = Elizabeth Gutman Kaye | image = Eliz. Gutman LOC 24169282251.jpg | alt = | caption = Gutman in the 1910s, with knitting | birth_date = September 5, 1887 | birth_place = [[Baltimore]], Maryland, U.S. | death_date = April 15, 1971 | death_place = Jamaica | other_names = E. G. Katzenstein | education = [[Goucher College]] | occupation = {{hlist|[[Artist]]|[[singing|singer]]|[[composer]]|[[Music education|music teacher]]}} | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = | spouse(s) = {{marriage|Walter Kaye|1911|1945|end=d}} | relatives = [[Adele Gutman Nathan]] (sister) | module = {{Infobox musical artist | embed = yes | background = person | instrument = Voice | genre = [[Folk music]] }} }} '''Elizabeth Gutman Kaye''' (September 5, 1887{{efn|Also cited as 1891. {{Citation needed|date=April 2026}}}} – April 15, 1971), also known as ''' E. G. Katzenstein''', was an American artist, soprano singer, composer and music teacher.<ref name="ULAN">{{cite web |title=Kaye, Elizabeth Gutman (American painter, born 1887) |url=http://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500048798 |website=Union List of Artist Names Online |publisher=J. Paul Getty Trust |access-date=1 April 2026 |location=Los Angeles, California}}</ref><ref name="Bornschein"/><ref name="New York"/><ref name="Folk"/><ref name=":2"/> In her musical career she was best known for performing Russian and Yiddish folk songs.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |date=August 8, 1918 |title=Elizabeth Gutman, Successful Pioneer of Russian and Jewish Folk Songs |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1918-08-08_77_32/page/30/mode/2up?q=%22Elizabeth+Gutman%22 |journal=Musical Courier |volume=77 |issue=32 |pages=30-31 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
==Early life and education == Gutman was born in [[Baltimore]], the daughter of Louis K. Gutman and Ida Newburger Gutman. Her father was a department store executive.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 27, 1927 |title=Louis K. Gutman. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/04/27/104071797.html |access-date=2026-03-21 |work=The New York Times |pages=25 |language=en |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Her mother was founder and president of the Baltimore Music Club and active in the [[National Federation of Music Clubs]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 1, 1939 |title=Mrs. Louis K. Gutman; Leader in Music Clubs Former Baltimore Store Executive |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1939/04/01/91559458.html |access-date=2026-03-21 |work=The New York Times |pages=19 |language=en |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Her sister was theatrical director and writer [[Adele Gutman Nathan]] (1889–1986).<ref>[https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/11/resources/1671 Adele Gutman Nathan Theatrical Collection], Archives at Yale.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Adele Gutman Nathan |url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/nathan-adele-gutman |access-date=2026-03-21 |website=Jewish Women's Archive |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=September 11, 1924 |title=Elizabeth Gutman Sings on Board Ship |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1924-09-11_89_11/mode/2up?q=%22Elizabeth+Gutman%22 |journal=Musical Courier |volume=89 |issue=11 |pages=8 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> She attended [[Goucher College]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=1971-04-24 |title=Rites Today for Mrs. Kay, Who Was Singer, Painter |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-rites-today-for-mrs-k/193876544/ |access-date=2026-03-21 |work=The Baltimore Sun |pages=17 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> ==Career== Kaye found success as a soprano, specializing in Brazilian, Spanish, Russian and Yiddish folk songs.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Elizabeth Gutman's Songs |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/01/13/113305317.html |access-date=2026-03-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en |page=74|date=January 13, 1918|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=March 12, 1928 |title=Elizabeth Gutman Pleases; Soprano Gives a Varied Program-- Ida Green Makes Debut |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/03/12/95559087.html |access-date=2026-03-21 |work=The New York Times |pages=20 |language=en |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> She toured in the United States and gave recitals in New York City,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 22, 1919 |title=Jewish Folk Songs at Columbia. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/03/22/102854478.html |access-date=2026-03-21 |work=The New York Times |pages=13 |language=en |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Washington, D.C.,<ref>{{Cite journal |date=November 24, 1923 |title=Elizabeth Gutman Sings in Washington |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1923-11-24_39_5/page/32/mode/2up?q=%22Elizabeth+Gutman%22 |journal=Musical America |volume=39 |issue=5 |pages=33 |via=Internet ARchive}}</ref> Paris, Vienna and Rome.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=May 21, 1925 |title=Elizabeth Gutman Singing Abroad |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1925-05-21_90_21/mode/2up?q=%22Elizabeth+Gutman%22 |journal=Musical Courier |volume=90 |issue=21 |pages=43 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> She was featured at a lecture by writer [[Ilya Tolstoy]] in 1917, along with pianist [[Leo Ornstein]] and the Ukrainian National Theater of New York.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=April 28, 1917 |title=Concert and Lecture Given |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1917-04-28_25_26/page/22/mode/2up?q=%22Elizabeth+Gutman%22 |journal=Musical America |volume=25 |issue=26 |pages=22 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> She was a soloist with the [[Baltimore Symphony Orchestra]].<ref name=":3" /> She also gave costumed performances for children,<ref>{{Cite journal |date=April 17, 1924 |title=Elizabeth Gutman Delights Children |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1924-04-17_88_16/mode/2up?q=%22Elizabeth+Gutman%22 |journal=Musical Courier |volume=88 |issue=16 |pages=58 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> taught voice students,<ref name="New York">{{Cite journal |date=October 15, 1932 |title=Elizabeth Gutman in New York |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1932-10-15_105_16/mode/2up?q=%22Elizabeth+Gutman%22 |journal=Musical Courier |volume=105 |issue=16 |pages=26 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> lectured on folk music,<ref name="Folk">{{Cite journal |date=February 21, 1924 |title=Elizabeth Gutman Discusses Folksongs |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1924-02-21_88_8/mode/2up?q=%22Elizabeth+Gutman%22 |journal=Musical Courier |volume=88 |issue=8 |pages=43 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> and wrote songs.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=United States Copyright Office |url=http://archive.org/details/CopyrightCards1946-1954 |title=1946-1954 Copyright Registration Cards (A-N) |date=1946}}</ref>
Kaye did not have a strong voice, but she researched her genre<ref>{{Cite journal |date=January 31, 1918 |title=Elizabeth Gutman, Russian-Yiddish Specialist |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1918-01-31_76_5/page/30/mode/2up?q=%22Elizabeth+Gutman%22 |journal=Musical Courier |volume=76 |issue=5 |pages=31 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> and conveyed "the spirit and content" of the songs effectively.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=December 16, 1916 |title=Quaint Folk Songs Artistically Sung |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1916-12-16_25_7/mode/2up?q=%22Elizabeth+Gutman%22 |journal=Musical America |volume=25 |issue=7 |pages=13 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> "If I did not think I had something to say that was worth making people hear and see, I should never try to sing," she told the ''[[Musical Courier]]'' in 1918.<ref name=":1" /> [[Dixie Selden]] made a portrait of Gutman before 1930.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1930-05-11 |title=The Week in Art Circles |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer-the-week-in-art/193876068/ |access-date=2026-03-21 |work=The Cincinnati Enquirer |pages=75 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
Kaye was also a talented watercolorist,<ref>{{Cite journal |date=December 19, 1931 |title=Links Age-Old Struggles of Painters and Composers against Current Bias |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1931-12-19_103_25/page/42/mode/2up?q=%22Elizabeth+Gutman%22 |journal=Musical Courier |volume=103 |issue=25 |pages=43 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> and her works were exhibited in Europe and the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elizabeth Gutman Kaye |url=https://rogallery.com/artists/elizabeth-gutman-kaye/?page=156 |access-date=2026-03-21 |website=RoGallery |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> She sometimes used the name E. G. Katzenstein for her art.<ref name="Bornschein">{{Cite journal |last=Bornschein |first=Franz C. |date=June 9, 1917 |title=Jewish Folk Songs Superior to Russians', Says Miss Gutman |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1917-06-09_26_6/mode/2up?q=%22Elizabeth+Gutman%22 |journal=Musical America |volume=26 |issue=6 |pages=27 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
== Compositions ==
* "At Night" (1948, words by Juanita D. Miller)<ref name=":2" /> * "Child and Moon" (1954, words and music)<ref name=":2" /> * "Was it a Dream?" (1954, words and music}<ref name=":2" />
==Personal life== Gutman married department store executive Walter Kaye in 1911. She reported a jewelry theft from her Baltimore apartment in 1926.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1926-12-09 |title=$3240 Jewel Theft Reported by Singer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-3240-jewel-theft-repo/193875895/ |access-date=2026-03-21 |work=The Baltimore Sun |pages=26 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> After her husband died in 1945,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1945-07-11 |title=Walter Kaye; Was Ex-President of Baltimore Department Store Firm |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/07/11/archives/walter-kaye-was-expresident-of-baltimore-department-store-firm.html |access-date=2026-03-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> she lived in New York City and in Italy. She died while vacationing in Jamaica in 1971, at the age of 83.<ref name=":3" />
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Elizabeth Gutman Kaye}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaye, Elizabeth Gutman }} [[Category:1887 births]] [[Category:1971 deaths]] [[Category:Writers from Baltimore]] [[Category:20th-century American women artists]] [[Category:American sopranos]] [[Category:Russian-language singers]] [[Category:Yiddish-language singers]] [[Category:20th-century American women composers]] [[Category:American women music educators]] [[Category:Goucher College alumni]] [[Category:Artists from Baltimore]] [[Category:20th-century American Jews]] [[Category:Jewish American composers]] [[Category:Jewish American women writers]]