Helge Igor Lindberg (1887–1928) was a Finnish

opera singer Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a lib ...

who was a popular concert singer in the 1920s throughout

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. He was also a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. Helge Lindberg first studied

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

at the conservatory in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. In 1907, he studied voice in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and finished his studies in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. He was known for singing works by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

and

Yrjö Kilpinen Yrjö Henrik Kilpinen (4 February 18922 March 1959) was a Finnish composer. He was born in Helsinki, and in 1907 he started his studies in the Helsingin Musiikkiopisto (later named Sibelius Academy). In 1910 Kilpinen moved to Vienna to continue ...

. From Musica Fennica (1965) (Timo Makinin and Seppo Nummi, authors): He received a medal from the King of Sweden for his singing. His known sculptures include a 12-inch wooden statue of himself as a satyr (1927); a sitting Buddha; a crucified Christ; and a black stone bust of his second wife (lost in Buenos Aires after her death).His second wife was Friederike ("Fritzi") Lindberg (), a member of the

Viennese Singing Sisters The Viennese Singing Sisters (AKA Edmund Fritz's Singing Babies, Singing Babies, Viennese Seven (sometimes, Six) Singing Sisters, and The Seven Singing Sisters) was a close harmony female singing group which originated in Austria in the late 1920 ...

and mother of Dian He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in 1928 and his ashes are interred on a small island off the southern coast of Finland (San Scher), which he had bought as a summer retreat. He was survived by his first wife Ernestine (Erna); his second wife Friederike (Fritzi), a member of the novelty group the Seven Viennese Singing Sisters (see Wikipedia link); and his sons Kim, Lars, and Dian. A biography was written on his life by Kosti Vehanen: Vehanen, Kosti: Mestarilaulaja Helge Lindberg. Kustannusyhtiö Kirja, Helsinki 1929. Known recordings include: "Frohsinn und Schwermut" (Händel), "Wie glänzt der helle Mond" (Wolf) and "Der Wanderer" (Schubert) and "Froh lacht die Brust" (see link to song below). Six recordings have been digitized and placed online by the Music Library of the

National Library of Finland The National Library of Finland (, ) is the foremost research library in Finland. Administratively the library is part of the University of Helsinki. From 1919 to 1 August 2006, it was known as the Helsinki University Library (). The Nationa ...

and can be found in Raita, a collection of digitized early Finnish sound recordings, by searching this site with "Helge Lindberg".

References

External links

A painting was made of him by the Bauhaus artist Johannes Itten in 1916: * http://laurentberges.tumblr.com/post/6970643135/johannes-itten-helge-lindberg-1915 A Waldemar Eide photo can be found here: * http://www.fotohistorie.no/media.php?id=7956

picture in 1917.

later picture MP3 link of "Der Wanderer" (other recordings sung by Lindberg are also on this site) * https://www.doria.fi/handle/10024/66486 Exhibition by the Finnland-Institute in Germany * https://web.archive.org/web/20151002171627/http://finnland-institut.de/musikbeziehungen/helge_lindberg.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindberg, Helge Deaths from pneumonia in Austria 1887 births 1927 deaths Finnish emigrants Immigrants to Austria 20th-century Finnish male opera singers