Gertrude van den Bergh
Encyclopedia
Gertrude van den Bergh was a Netherlands
pianist and composer.
, the eldest daughter of Dutch
farmer Henderik van den Bergh and German
Maria Theresia Leydel. Van den Bergh showed talent for music at an early age, took piano lessons at six and published a harpsichord sonata at the age of nine. She studied composition with Johann Burgmüller and piano with Ferdinand Ries
, and in 1809 her father organized a concert tour of the Netherlands for Gertrude and her sister Sophia.
The family moved to The Hague
about 1813, and afterward Van den Bergh seldom played in public. She continued to play in private circles and remained well known. In 1830 she was invited to join the Society for the Promotion of Music, which had not been previously open to women. In 1834 the society held a two-day festival in The Hague where Van den Bergh participated. She directed the first mixed voice choir from The Hague and from 1837 or 1838 the Vocal Society.
As an unmarried woman, Van den Bergh lived with her mother and gave singing and piano lessons. She wrote a music instruction manual around 1830 to aid in this work, and in 1840 she died in The Hague of breast cancer at the age of 47.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
pianist and composer.
Life
Gertrude van den Bergh was baptized in CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, the eldest daughter of Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
farmer Henderik van den Bergh and German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Maria Theresia Leydel. Van den Bergh showed talent for music at an early age, took piano lessons at six and published a harpsichord sonata at the age of nine. She studied composition with Johann Burgmüller and piano with Ferdinand Ries
Ferdinand Ries
Ferdinand Ries was a German composer.- Life :Born into a musical family of Bonn, Ries was a friend and pupil of Beethoven who published in 1838 a collection of reminiscences of his teacher, co-written with Franz Wegeler...
, and in 1809 her father organized a concert tour of the Netherlands for Gertrude and her sister Sophia.
The family moved to The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
about 1813, and afterward Van den Bergh seldom played in public. She continued to play in private circles and remained well known. In 1830 she was invited to join the Society for the Promotion of Music, which had not been previously open to women. In 1834 the society held a two-day festival in The Hague where Van den Bergh participated. She directed the first mixed voice choir from The Hague and from 1837 or 1838 the Vocal Society.
As an unmarried woman, Van den Bergh lived with her mother and gave singing and piano lessons. She wrote a music instruction manual around 1830 to aid in this work, and in 1840 she died in The Hague of breast cancer at the age of 47.
Works
Most of Van den Bergh's compositions were unpublished and so lost. Selected works include:- Lied für Piano-Forte
- Rondeau pour le piano forte, op. 3