Agathe Backer-Grøndahl
Agathe Backer, better known as the Agathe Backer Grøndahl ( born December 1, 1847 in Holme beach, Vestfold, † June 4, 1907 in Christiania, now Oslo ) was a Norwegian composer and pianist.
Life
Agathe Backer, a prominent Norwegian pianist and composer, came from a wealthy and art-loving family in which the talent of the daughters was recognized and nurtured very early. Age of three, she impressed the audience with their exceptional game and was regarded as absolutely exceptional talent. This also applies to her sister Harriet Backer (1845-1932), which was to become a famous painter. A short time later, the family moved to Christiania.
Agathe Backer studied piano, music theory and composition at the Conservatory Christiania at Otto Winter - Hjelm, Halfdan and Ludvig Mathias Lindeman Kjerulf. Between 1865 and 1869 she went against the wishes of her parents to Berlin to study at the prestigious piano teacher at that time, Theodor Kullak, and the music teacher Richard Wüerst on Kullak'schen Conservatory. On her return to Norway, she debuted in 1868 in Christiania, under the then-unknown Edvard Grieg with Beethoven's 5th piano concerto. Then she continued her studies at the famous conductor and composer Hans Guido Freiherr von Bülow in Florence as well as Franz Liszt in Weimar.
In the aftermath Agathe Backer appeared as pianist in many European countries. She was, among others, in London, where George Bernard Shaw she heard and referred to them as the true successor of Clara Schumann. In 1875 she was appointed a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
In the same year she married the singing teacher and choral conductor Olaus Andreas Grøndahl, with whom she lived in Christiania and where their three sons were born. One of the sons - Fridtjof Backer Grøndahl (1885-1959) - Following in the footsteps of his mother and was also a renowned pianist. In order to improve the financial situation of the family, she gave piano lessons daily. But her concert performances, she never gave up. At the World Exhibition in Paris, she played Edvard Grieg's A minor Piano Concerto, which was directed by her husband. It then played some concerts in her home until her health deteriorated very. Towards the end of her life Backer Grøndahl was completely deaf and had to give up her career.
Works (selection)
- 6 Etudes de Concert, Op.11
- 3 Etudes de Concert, Op.32
- 3 Etudes de Concert, Op.47
- 3 Etudes, Op.22
- 10 Fantasy Pieces, Op.36
- 5 Fantasy Pieces, Op.45
- 3 Pieces, Op.15
- 3 Pieces, Op.53
- Prelude et Grand Minuet, Op.61
- 4 Sketches, Op.19
- 12 Smaa Fantasistykker, Op.55
- Suite for Piano, Op.20
- 3 Ungarske Studier, Op.38