Mary Louise Barratt Due (9 April 1888 in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, Norway – 24 December 1969 in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, Norway) was known as one of the most influential Norwegian pianists in the 20th century. She was the daughter of the preacher

Thomas Ball Barratt Thomas Ball Barratt, also known as T. B. Barratt, (22 July 1862 – 29 January 1940) was a British-born Norwegian pastor and one of the founding figures of the Pentecostal movement in Europe, bringing the movement, or baptism in the Holy Spirit, ...

, and the mother to the musicians

Stephan Henrik Barratt-Due Stephan Henrik Barratt-Due (19 February 1919 – 18 November 1985) was a Norwegian violinist and music teacher and son of violinist Henrik Adam Due (1891–1966) and Mary Barratt Due (b. Barratt, 1888–1969). He married Else Barratt-Due (b. Hols ...

and Esther Barratt-Due. In 1916 she married the violinist

Henrik Adam Due Henrik Adam Due (19 April 1891 – 13 May 1966) was a Norwegians, Norwegian violinist originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the son of physician Elias Kristian Jensen Due (1845–1931) and Elen Henriette Due (née Broch, 1853–1926), marrie ...

, and together they founded the

Barratt Due Institute of Music The Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo, Norway, is a music education institute founded in 1927 by pianist Mary Barratt Due and violinist Henrik Adam Due. It is situated in Fagerborg in Oslo and is a private stiftelse, foundation which receive ...

in 1927.

Biography

Barratt Due was born in Bergen, but the family moved the following year to

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, where her father was a minister in the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

. Growing up in Grünerløkka was happy, in a home harmonious and full of music. Both parents played and sang, and her father's daily morning devotions attended all the family in the song. Barratt Due received piano lessons at an early age. 10 years old, she got an exemption from the age limit and attended the Oslo Musikkonservatorium, despite the fact that the age limit was 12 years. With a scholarship, she traveled 14-year-old to Rome, Italy to study at the traditional

St. Cecilia Academy St. Cecilia Academy is a historic religious building in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.. History The building was built on a mansion designed in the Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival architectural style for John F. Erwin and his wife Lavinia R ...

. Here she spent six years in an international and exuberant musical environment, where also the theory and language were part of the curriculum, and in 1906 she made her debut in Oslo, and in 1907 she took diploma exam in Italy. As a teacher of piano, she composer, pianist and Liszt pupil Giovanni Sgambati. Through him she had firsthand knowledge of the interpretation of Liszt and Chopin, who would later become her favorite composers. 1906 she made her debut in Kristiania with rave reviews. Back in Rome she completed her graduation Diploma Musica in 1907 and gave several concerts. She had an extensive performing beside teaching at the institute. Favorite composers were

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

and

Frederic Chopin Frederic may refer to: Places United States * Frederic, Wisconsin, a village in Polk County * Frederic Township, Michigan, a township in Crawford County ** Frederic, Michigan, an unincorporated community Other uses * Frederic (band), a Japanese r ...

. She was also open for the new

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

style, and was among the first in Norway to put

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

on the schedule. She released ''Norsk pianoskole'' in 1931, together with the composer

Eyvind Alnæs Eyvind Alnæs (29 April 1872 – 24 December 1932) was a Norwegian composer, pianist, organist and choir director. Personal life Alnæs was born in Fredrikstad, as the son of headmaster Johannes Jørgen Lauritz Alnæs (1835–1916) and Elise Ma ...

, and was president of the Soroptimist movement from 1948.

Publications

*1931: ''Norsk Pianoskole'' together with

*1957: ''Musikkinntrykk fra Amerika'', chronicle in

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...

15 April 1957

References

External links

Mary Louise Barratt Due at Oslobilder
{{DEFAULTSORT:Due, Mary Barratt 1888 births 1969 deaths Norwegian classical pianists Musicians from Oslo Academic staff of the Barratt Due Institute of Music Norwegian people of English descent People of Cornish descent 20th-century classical pianists Women classical pianists