Robert Dankwart Leo Riefling (17 September 1911 – 1 July 1988) was a Norwegian classical pianist and pedagogist. He was regarded among Scandinavia's leading pianists, and toured all over the western world. He was a Professor in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

from 1967, and 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 ...

from 1973.

Personal life

Robert Riefling was born in

Aker Aker may refer to: Places * Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway * Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Aker Br ...

as the son of musician Albert Heinrich Theodor Riefling and Ingeborg Louise Rollag. He was a brother of pianist

Reimar Riefling Østen Gottlieb Reimar Riefling (4 December 1898 – 22 May 1981) was a Norwegian classical pianist, pedagogist and music critic, a brother of pianist Robert Riefling. He made his concert debut in Dresden in 1922, and toured in Germany and Sc ...

. He was married three times, first from 1944 to 1947 to pianist Amalie Christie, then from 1949 to

Borghild Hammerich Borghild Hammerich (2 March 1901 – 8 September 1978) was a Norwegian activist most known for her humanitarian efforts during World War II. Biography Borghild Schmidt was born in Bergen, Norway. She was the daughter of Lauritz Peter Schmidt ...

, and from 1988 to Bibbi Lindstrøm. He was a brother-in-law of the military officers

Werner Christie Werner Hosewinckel Christie (born 26 April 1949) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was Norway's first Minister of Health from 1992 to 1995, serving in Gro Harlem Brundtland's third cabinet. Werner Christie was educated as a me ...

and Johan Christie.

Career

Riefling made his concert debut with the

Oslo Philharmonic The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 18 ...

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 ...

in 1922, and had his solo debut in 1925. He studied piano in Oslo with Nils Larsen, and from 1928 in Germany with Karl Leimer,

Wilhelm Kempff Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff (25 November 1895 – 23 May 1991) was a German pianist and composer. Although his repertoire included Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well known for his interpretations ...

and

Edwin Fischer Edwin Fischer (6 October 1886 – 24 January 1960) was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is regarded as one of the great interpreters of J.S. Bach and Mozart in the twentieth century. Biography Fischer was born in Basel and studied ...

. In 1936 he won First Prize at the contest ''Interskandinavisk konkurranse'' in Copenhagen. He won 6th Prize at the Concours Ysaye in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in 1938. In 1941 he started ' along with his brother Reimar. During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany he was arrested and held at

Bredtveit Bredtvet is a neighborhood in the borough of Bjerke in Oslo, Norway. The area is located on a ridge between the neighborhoods of Veitvet to the west and Kalbakken to the east. Its origin was as a farm of the same name. It is not mentioned in wr ...

and Grini concentration camp a few months in 1942 and 1943. He was widely known for his interpretation of works by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

, including ''

The Well-Tempered Clavier ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time, ''clavier'', meaning keyboard, referred to a variety of in ...

'', which he had studied while being imprisoned, and played at concerts in Oslo, Copenhagen and London in 1947. Among his first performances of contemporary compositions are

Klaus Egge Klaus Egge (July 19, 1906 – March 7, 1979) was a Norwegian composer and music critic. Background Egge was born in Gransherad, Telemark, Norway. He was the son Rasmus Klausen Egge (1874-1962) and Rakel Abrahamsdatter Iversen (1877-1986). He gr ...

's ''Fantasi i Halling'', a piano concert by Harald Sæverud and Johannes Rivertz' piano suite ''Spill og dans''. Riefling recorded more than 60 albums, including all

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 ...

's sonatas, sonatas by

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

and

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 all works by

Fartein Valen Olav Fartein Valen (25 August 1887 – 14 December 1952) was a Norwegian composer, notable for his work in atonal polyphonic music. He developed a polyphony similar to Bach's counterpoint, but based on motivic working and dissonance rather th ...

. In 1967, he was appointed professor at the

Royal Danish Academy of Music The Royal Danish Academy of Music, or Royal Danish Conservatory of Music ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium), in Copenhagen is the oldest professional institution of musical education in Denmark as well as the largest, with approxima ...

in Copenhagen, and a professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music from its establishment in 1973. He was decorated Knight, First Class of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, Knight of the Danish

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

, and was awarded the German

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

. Riefling died in Oslo on 1 July 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riefling, Robert 1911 births 1988 deaths Musicians from Oslo Norwegian classical pianists Bredtveit concentration camp survivors Grini concentration camp survivors Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog 20th-century classical pianists Norwegian expatriates in Denmark