Edith Vogel (5 April 1912 in

Czernowitz Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivtsi serv ...

– 12 June 1992 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) was an Austro-Hungarian-born classical

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

active in the UK. After she got as far as she could with her first teacher, Vogel took lessons from Wally Loew, first assistant to

Richard Robert Richard Robert (25 March 1861 – 1 February 1924 in Kaltenleutgeben)
Retrieved 28 August 2013

, whom she described as "a sergeant-major of the first order", who forced her to study only dramatic and virtuoso pieces.Edith Vogel in conversation with Stephen Plaistow. ''Radio 3 magazine'', December 1983, p27-28. She made her debut in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

at the age of 10, and studied at the Vienna Academy. She broadcast on Austrian radio when she was 15. After Hitler came to power she escaped Austria, arriving at Victoria station in 1938 with ten

schilling Schilling may refer to: * Schilling (unit), an historical unit of measurement * Schilling (coin), the historical European coin ** Shilling, currency historically used in Europe and currently used in the East African Community ** Austrian schilling ...

s. From her arrival in Britain she did not play professionally for ten years, working instead as house-keeper, clerk, child-minder and some 'unofficial' teaching, and playing only privately among friends and fellow refugees (including on one occasion

Schnabel Schnabel is a German surname meaning "beak". Notable people with the surname include: * Arthur Schnabel (1948–2018), German judoka *Artur Schnabel (1882–1951), Polish-Austrian classical pianist and composer, husband of Therese Schnabel *Charles ...

before he left for America). At one point she was almost mistakenly engaged at the

Windmill Theatre The Windmill Theatre in Great Windmill Street, London, was a variety and revue theatre best known for its nude ''tableaux vivants'', which began in 1932 and lasted until its reversion to a cinema in 1964. Many prominent British comedians of t ...

. From August 1948 she began playing recitals and concertos up and down the UK. She appeared at the Proms seven times between 1952 and 1978, playing Brahms and Beethoven, but also the London premiere of

Gordon Jacob Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE (5 July 18958 June 1984) was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about ...

's 2nd Piano Concerto. Vogel began to broadcast regularly for

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio from the 1950s, becoming particularly associated with the music of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

and

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

. She was also a prominent teacher, participating in the Dartington Summer Schools and joining the piano faculty and giving master classes at the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz along with dram ...

, claiming that life without teaching would be "unthinkable". A colleague there was James Gibb, with whom she performed duets. She had homes in London and Sussex. The BBC holds a considerable archive of her recordings, some of which have been made commercially available.

References

1912 births 1992 deaths Musicians from Chernivtsi British classical pianists British women pianists 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century British musicians Austrian emigrants to the United Kingdom Austrian emigrants to England 20th-century women pianists {{UK-classical-pianist-stub