Friederike Proch Benesch

Friederike Proch Benesch
Her portrait, painted in 1840 by the Austrian painter Eduard Ender; held in the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere.
Born
Friderica Ernestina Theresia Proch

(1805-03-04)March 4, 1805
Vienna, Austrian Empire
DiedFebruary 23, 1872(1872-02-23) (aged 66)
Vienna, Austria-Hungary
OccupationsPianist, piano teacher, composer
RelativesVincenc Mašek (grandfather)
Gašpar Mašek (uncle)
Heinrich Proch (brother)
Kamilo Mašek (cousin)

Friderica Ernestina Theresia Proch Benesch (4 March 1805 – 23 February 1872), was a Czech pianist, piano teacher, and composer. She had a long concert career in Vienna, and for several years she was also active in what is now Slovenia.[1][2] She was the first known woman to perform her own composition publicly in Ljubljana,[3][4][5] and the first known woman to teach piano privately in Ljubljana in an official capacity (outside school institutions).[6][3]

Childhood and education

She was born on 4 March 1805 in Vienna into a distinguished Czech family.[2][3][a] Her mother was the music teacher Vinzenzia Maschek (1782–1849), daughter of the composer Vincenc Mašek, and her father was the lawyer Ernst Proch (1778–1856).[7][8][1] Among her siblings was her younger brother Heinrich Proch, a composer. In 1909 she moved with her family to Pottendorf in Lower Austria, about forty kilometres from Vienna.[1] Her first piano teacher was her mother.[8][1]

As a child, she organized private concerts with her mother, sisters and brothers; these were attended by members of the Esterházy noble family and prominent local intellectuals, and on one occasion also the young composer Franz Liszt.[1] In 1819 she moved with her family to Wiener Neustadt. There she first studied piano and composition with the Austrian composer Simon Sechter (1788–1867), and later composition and harmony with the Austrian organist, conductor, and composer Anton Herzog (1771–1850).[1][2]

Work

In Ljubljana

In August 1822 she appeared publicly for the first time in Vienna and was well received.[9] She performed the then-very-popular Piano Concerto No. 2 in A minor by Johann Nepomuk Hummel.[9] That same year she met the Czech violinist and composer Joseph Benesch (1795–1873), who became the violin teacher of her brother Heinrich.[8] In April 1832 she married him and moved with him to Ljubljana (Laibach). There, her uncle Caspar Maschek, also known as Gašpar Mašek, together with his wife Amalie Horný Maschek, a concert singer, was among the leading musicians.[8][1] Between 1823 and 1826 she appeared seven times on the stage of Ljubljana's Philharmonic Society, either as a soloist or as an accompanist.[4][5] She also performed several times with her husband.[4][8]

On 30 May 1823 in Ljubljana, she publicly performed with the Philharmonic Society orchestra her Variationen fiir das Piano-Forte mit Orchester-Begleitung (Variations for piano and orchestra), and thereby became the first known woman to perform her own composition publicly in Ljubljana.[3][4][5] In 1924, at only nineteen years of age, she became an honorary member of the Ljubljana Philharmonic.[10][b] From 1923 until leaving Ljubljana she taught piano privately.[3][1][6] In this way she became the first known woman in Ljubljana to teach piano privately in an official capacity (outside school institutions, such as the Ursuline schools).[6][3] She published advertisements for lessons in the newspaper Laibacher Zeitung.[6][8] In 1927 she and her husband gave several concerts in Prague, for which she received much praise in the newspapers.[8][2] During her stay in Ljubljana she gave birth to two daughters and a son.[11][12][8] For each birth she travelled to Vienna and later returned to Ljubljana.[11][12][8]

In Vienna

At the end of 1828 she moved with her family to Vienna, where she continued her concert career, teaching, and composing.[2][1][7] After moving to Vienna she gave birth to another daughter, who died in childhood, and a son.[13][14] Soon after the move she and her husband gave several concerts in Vienna.[7] In the following years she performed frequently in Vienna and in Wiener Neustadt.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] She performed mainly works by Carl Maria von Weber, Henri Herz, Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Ferdinand Ries and Theodor Döhler.[1][21] She appeared several times at the Burgtheater.[15] For her concerts she received much praise in newspapers such as Der Sammler, Wiener Zeitschrift für Kunst, Literatur, Theater und Mode, Österreichischer Zuschauer, Der Humorist, and others.[1][24] She collaborated and performed with various Viennese musicians, including the harpist Therese Heilingmeyer, but above all with her husband and her brother.[2][1][25] In Vienna she composed several works for piano.[7]

Later life and death

In her late forties she stopped giving concerts.[2][1][15] She died of abdominal degeneration on 23 February 1872 in Vienna.[26][27]

Awards

  • Honorary membership of the Philharmonic Society in Ljubljana (1824)[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Benesch, Friederike – Sophie Drinker Institut" [Benesch, Friederike – Sophie Drinker Institut]. www.sophie-drinker-institut.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Fastl, Christian (2002). "Benesch (Beneš), Ehepaar Joseph" [Benesch (Beneš), the couple]. ISBN 978-3-7001-3043-7 (in German). Forschungen Institut für kunst-und musikhistorische. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Cvetko, Dragotin (1960). Zgodovina glasbene umetnosti na Slovenskem [History of Musical Art in the Slovene Lands] (in Slovenian). Državna založba Slovenije.
  4. ^ a b c d Železnik, Sara (2013). Koncertni sporedi Filharmonične družbe 1816-1872 [Concert Programmes of the Philharmonic Society 1816–1872] (in Slovenian). Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete. ISBN 978-961-237-571-3.
  5. ^ a b c Zupančič, Maruša (2025). "Transcending traditional roles: female instrumentalists in Ljubljana's public musical life between 1790 and 1848". De musica disserenda. 1. Muzikološki inštitut ZRC SAZU.
  6. ^ a b c d Zupančič, Maruša (24 October 2024). "Ženske kot protagonistke klavirske umetnosti v prvi polovici 19. stoletja v Ljubljani" [Women as protagonists of piano art in the first half of the 19th century in Ljubljana]. Alternator (in Slovenian). Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  7. ^ a b c d Zupančič, Maruša (2022). "Portraits of Musicians". INMUS. ZRC SAZU. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Zupančič, Maruša (2022). "Joseph Benesch : a forgotten Bohemian violinist and an imitator of Niccolo Paganini within the Central European violinistic tradition". De musica disserenda. 1. Muzikološki inštitut ZRC SAZU.
  9. ^ a b "Wiener Neuſtadt in July 1822 (Wiener Neuſtadt im Juli 1822)" [Wiener Neustadt in July 1822]. Wiener Theater-Zeitung (in German). 8 August 1822. pp. 3–4.
  10. ^ "Honorary members of the Philharmonic Society (Ehrenmitglieder der Philharmonischen Gesellschaft)" [Honorary members of the Philharmonic]. Jahres-Bericht der philharmonischen Gesellscahft in Laibach (in German). Verlag der philharmonischen Gesellschaft. 1914.
  11. ^ a b Katholische Kirchenbücher; Pfarre: Wiener Neustadt-Hauptpfarre; Signatur: 9545; Laufendenummer: 01-10 [Catholic church registers; parish: Wiener Neustadt—main parish; signature: 9545; running number: 01-10] (in German). Vienna. {{cite book}}: Wikipedia Library link in |url= (help)
  12. ^ a b Catholic parish registers (Katholische Kirchenbücher) [Catholic parish registers] (in German). Linz: Linz diocese archive. {{cite book}}: Wikipedia Library link in |url= (help)
  13. ^ Katholische Kirchenbücher; Pfarre: Wiener Neustadt-Neukloster; Signatur: 9546; Laufendenummer: 03-02 [Catholic parish registers; parish: Wiener Neustadt–Neukloster; signature: 9546; running number: 03-02] (in German). Vienna: Vienna Archdiocesian archive. {{cite book}}: Wikipedia Library link in |url= (help)
  14. ^ Katholische Kirchenbücher; Pfarre: St Stephan; Signatur: 9001; Laufendenummer: 01-111 [Catholic parish registers; parish: St Stephen; signature: 9001; running number: 01-111] (in German). Vienna: Vienna Archdiocesian archive. {{cite book}}: Wikipedia Library link in |url= (help)
  15. ^ a b c "aphiſche Skizzen hier lebender Kompoſiteure, Virtuoſen und muſikaliſcher Schriftſteller. Joſeph Beneſch" [Biographical sketches of composers, virtuosos and musical writers living here. Joseph Benesch]. Wiener allgemeine Musik-Zeitung (in German). 13 May 1848. pp. 1–2.
  16. ^ "Concert for the benefit of needy widows and orphans of members of the Faculty of Law at the local Imperial and Royal university (Concert zum Vortheile dürftiger Witwen und Waisen der Mitgliederdcr juridischen Fakultät an der hiesigen k. k. Hochschule)" [Concert for the benefit of needy widows and orphans of members of the Faculty of Law at the local Imperial and Royal university]. Wiener Theater-Zeitung (in German). 20 April 1833. p. 3.
  17. ^ "Concert des Hrn. Joseph Benesch" [Concert of Mr Joseph Benesch]. Wiener Theater-Zeitung (in German). 12 January 1835. p. 3-4.
  18. ^ "Concert - Anzeige" [Concert – announcement]. Wiener Zeitschrift (in German). 4 December 1830. p. 8.
  19. ^ "Concertanziege" [Concert announcement]. Wiener allgemeine Musik-Zeitung (in German). 21 December 1841. p. 4.
  20. ^ "Wien. Musikalische Chronik des ersten Quartals" [Vienna. Musical chronicle of the first quarter.]. Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung (in German). 10 June 1835. pp. 5–6.
  21. ^ a b "Aus Wiener-Neustadt" [From Wiener Neustadt]. Wiener Theater-Zeitung (in German). 27 April 1836. pp. 3–4.
  22. ^ "Wien. Musikalische Chronik des zweyten Quartals" [Vienna. Musical chronicle of the second quarter.]. Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung (in German). 21 August 1833. pp. 5–7.
  23. ^ "Concertanzeige" [Concert announcement]. Wiener Zeitschrift (in German). 6 February 1836. p. 8.
  24. ^ "Concert des Hr Joseph Benesch" [Concert of Mr Joseph Benesch]. Der Humorist (in German). 1 January 1840. p. 4.
  25. ^ "Konzert des Heinrich Proch in Neustadt" [Concert of Heinrich Proch in Neustadt]. Wiener Theater-Zeitung (in German). 20 April 1830. p. 3.
  26. ^ Katholische Kirchenbücher; Pfarre: Wieden; Signatur: 9039; Laufendenummer: 03-21 [Catholic parish registers; parish: Wieden; signature: 9039; running number: 03-21]. 1972. {{cite book}}: Wikipedia Library link in |url= (help)
  27. ^ "Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek" [Catalogue of the German National Library]. portal.dnb.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-12-09.

Notes

  1. ^ According to some sources, she was born in 1904.
  2. ^ According to some sources, she was twenty years old.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.