Erik Then-Bergh (3 May 1916 – 19 April 1982) was a German pianist and music educator.

Life and career

Born in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, Then-Bergh received his first piano lessons at the age of five from his father and further training with the Hanoverian piano teacher Clara Spitta (1885-1955). He made his first public appearance in his home town at the age of 13. Later he studied piano in Frankfurt in the master class of

Alfred Hoehn Alfred Hoehn (20 October 1887 – 2 August 1945) was a German pianist, composer, piano pedagogue and editor. Life and career Born in , Hoehn was the son of a teacher and organist. He was supported by the pianist Eugen d'Albert, the conductor ...

and then deepened his studies with

Carl Adolf Martienssen Carl Adolf Martienssen (6 December 1881 – 1 March 1955) was a German pianist and music educator. Life Born in Güstrow, Martiensen came from a large farming family, which apparently only immigrated to Mecklenburg in the generation of his fathe ...

in Berlin. At the age of 20 he won the Walter Bachmann Prize in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. He made his debut in 1938 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin with piano concertos by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

and Brahms. The high point of his career was during the Second World War, where he played under famous conductors and won the National Music Prize in 1940 as the best young pianist. After the war, extensive concert tours took him all over Europe, where he played under famous conductors like Herbert von Karajan or

Joseph Keilberth Joseph Keilberth (19 April 1908 – 20 July 1968) was a German conductor who specialised in opera. Career He started his career in the State Theatre of his native city, Karlsruhe. In 1940 he became director of the German Philharmonic Orches ...

. In 1954 he played four concerts in Hamburg and Berlin under the conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler. Furtwängler was so impressed by him that he asked him to perform the revised version of his Symphonic Concerto in B minor on a major concert tour with the Berliner Philharmonikern. Both rehearsed and worked on the work together, but Furtwängler's death on 30 Nov. 1954 caused the tour to fail. Then-Bergh played this concert almost 4 years later, on 25 January 1958 in the concert hall of the Universität der Künste Berlin with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in a

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

to Furtwängler. The conductor was

Artur Rother Artur Martin Rother (12 October 188522 September 1972) was a German conductor who worked mainly in the opera house. He was born in Stettin, Pomerania (now Szczecin, Poland). His father was an organist and music teacher. He studied under Hugo Kau ...

. Then-Bergh was not only a pianist, but also a committed music educator. Since 1949 he taught at the

Folkwang University of the Arts The Folkwang University of the Arts is a university for music, theater, dance, design, and academic studies, located in four German cities of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1927, its traditional main location has been in the former Werden Abbey in E ...

, from 1952 at the same time and later entirely at the

Musikhochschule München The University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater München), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is t ...

, where he taught until his death. His recording concentrating mainly on the works of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

and

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

. In 1955 he sat on the jury of the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, as did his teacher Alfred Hoehn in 1932 and 1937. Then-Bergh died in

Baldham Baldham is a district of Vaterstetten in the Upper Bavarian district of Ebersberg, Germany. It is located approximately 18 km east of the state capital Munich and 15 km west of the district capital Ebersberg. Geography Vaterstetten is lo ...

near Munich at age 65.

External links

*
Erik Then-Berg
on Munzinger * {{DEFAULTSORT:ThenBergh, Erik 1916 births 1982 deaths People from Hanover German classical pianists Male classical pianists 20th-century classical pianists German music educators 20th-century German male musicians