Erik Werba (23 May 1918 – 9 April 1992) was an Austrian classical pianist who is especially known as an accompanist of singers. He was also a music critic, conductor, composer, author and academic teacher.

Career

Werba was born in

Baden bei Wien Baden (German for " Baths"; Central Bavarian: ''Bodn''), unofficially distinguished from other Badens as Baden bei Wien (Baden near Vienna), is a spa town in Austria. It serves as the capital of Baden District in the state of Lower Austria. Loc ...

, the son of Ludwig Werba (1884–1945), who was born in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

and became a composer, music director and vice-president of the ''Österreichisch-ungarischer Musikerverband'', founded in 1896. Ludwig Werba died in a bombing raid on 2 April 1945. Werba completed the Matura at the Baden Gymnasium in 1936. He then studied at both the

Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

in Vienna and the University of Vienna, where he earned a PhD in 1940. He worked as a music critic and teacher, and directed the Mozartgemeinde after World War II. Werba was

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

at the from 1945 to 1946.Franziska Dzugan: ''Chamäleons im Blätterwald. Die Wurzeln der ÖVP-ParteijournalistInnen in Austrofaschismus, Nationalsozialismus, Demokratie und Widerstand. Eine kollektivbiografische Analyse an den Beispielen Wiener Tageszeitung und Linzer Volksblatt 1945 bzw. 1947 bis 1955''. Dissertation. Universität Wien, Wien 2011, p. 171. �
Volltext online (PDF; 1,4 MB)
As a pianist, he focused on accompanying

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er singers. He collaborated with

Irmgard Seefried Irmgard Seefried (9 October 191924 November 1988) was a distinguished German soprano who sang opera, sacred music, and lieder. Maria Theresia Irmgard Seefried was born in , near Mindelheim, Bavaria, Germany, the daughter of educated Austri ...

Christa Ludwig Christa Ludwig (16 March 1928 – 24 April 2021) was a German mezzo-soprano and occasional dramatic soprano, distinguished for her performances of opera, lieder, oratorio, and other major religious works like masses, passions, and solos in symp ...

, Walter Berry, Kim Borg,"Seefried, Ludwig, Berry und Borg waren die Sänger mit denen ich die Welt bereist habe." – Erik Werba in an earlier studio discussion. Broadcast on 24 May 2018 in ''Stimmen hören'' on Ö1 Brigitte Fassbaender,

Peter Schreier Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conducte ...

and Nicolai Gedda, appearing internationally. Werba was a professor of

and oratorio at the Wiener Musikakademie from 1949 to 1990, and from 1964 to 1971 also at the

in Graz. As a journalist, he worked for the newsletters of the Mozartgemeinde, the ''Wiener Figaro'', the Österreichische Musikzeitschrift and the periodical ''Musikerziehung''. As a composer, he wrote incidental music, chamber music and lieder. Werba died on 9 April 1992 in Hinterbrühl. He is buried at the Maria Enzersdorf cemetery.

Compositions

Werba composed lieder, including: * "Ich bin...", for high voice and piano (1936) * "Neige dein Köpfchen", for high voice and piano (1936) * "Ich saß vor dunklem Walde", for high voice and piano (1936)

Publications

* ''Richard Strauss zum 85. Geburtstag'', 1949 * ''Tenoralbum'', 1951 * ''Bariton-Baß-Album'', 1953 * ''Josef Marx, eine Studie'', 1962 * ''Hugo Wolf oder – Der zornige Romantiker'', 1971 * ''Erich Marckhl'', 1972 * ''Hugo Wolf und seine Lieder'', 1984Hugo Wolf und seine Lieder
Österreichischer Bibliothekenverbund

Awards

* 1960: Mozartmedaille awarded by the Mozart Society of Vienna

References

External links

*
Erik Werba
im Austria-Forum * {{DEFAULTSORT:Werba, Erik 1918 births 1992 deaths Musicians from Baden bei Wien Austrian composers Austrian classical pianists Male classical pianists Austrian music critics Classical accompanists 20th-century classical composers University of Vienna alumni Academic staff of the University of Vienna 20th-century male musicians