Catharine Riddervold Wernicke (14 April 1789 – 5 June 1862) was a Danish pianist. Wernicke was the daughter of Danish-Norwegian composer and Charlotte Louise Breetz (1763–1853). She became a prominent musician who, as far as it is known, is the first Danish woman to perform publicly as a pianist. In 1806, her father presented her at a concert in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, where she first attracted attention. In 1807 she and her father embarked on a concert tour of the country to collect for the needy after the Battle of Copenhagen during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. They managed to hold a few concerts in eastern Holsteen and

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

before they had to cancel the trip because of the death of

Christian VII Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was a monarch of the House of Oldenburg who was King of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. For his motto he chose: "''Gloria ex amore patriae''" ...

. The following year, they resumed concert activities in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

and

Ringsted Ringsted is a city located centrally in the Danish island of Zealand. It is the seat of a municipality of the same name. Ringsted is situated approximately 60 km from Copenhagen. Tourism and transport Ringsted is one of Denmark's busiest ...

where the proceeds went to distressed Norwegians and to the ''Education Institute for Girl Children by Government officials''. In the spring of 1810 she gave two concerts and in 1824 one at the Royal Theatre. In 1826 in Copenhagen, she married her schoolmate Frederik Christian Schouboe (1766-1829). After his death, she continued to live in the capital for a few years before moving back to her hometown of

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companies, ...

. Precision, great skill and imagination characterized her style.

Steen Steensen Blicher Steen Steensen Blicher (11 October 1782, Vium – 26 March 1848 in Spentrup) was an author and poet born in Vium near Viborg, Denmark. Biography Blicher was the son of a literarily inclined Jutlandic parson whose family was distantly rela ...

wrote a tribute to her in his ''Piano Player's'' poem.

References

1789 births 1862 deaths Danish classical pianists Danish women pianists People from Kolding 19th-century Danish women musicians Women classical pianists 19th-century women pianists {{Denmark-musician-stub