Robert Dankwart Leo Riefling (17 September 1911 – 1 July 1988) was a Norwegian

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, ...

and pedagogist. He was regarded among Scandinavia's leading pianists, and toured all over the western world. He was a professor in Copenhagen from 1967, and in Oslo from 1973.

Personal life

Robert Riefling was born in Aker as the son of musician Albert Heinrich Theodor Riefling and Ingeborg Louise Rollag. He was a brother of pianist

Reimar Riefling Østen Gottlieb Reimar Riefling (4 December 1898 – 22 May 1981) was a Norwegian classical pianist, pedagogist and music critic, a brother of pianist Robert Riefling. He made his concert debut in Dresden in 1922, and toured in Germany and S ...

. He was married three times, first from 1944 to 1947 to pianist

Amalie Christie Amalie Christie (21 December 1913 – 4 March 2010) was a Norwegian classical pianist, author and anthroposophist. Personal life She was born in Vang, Hedmark as a daughter of professor Werner Hosewinckel Christie (1877–1927) and Baroness Kare ...

, then from 1949 to Borghild Hammerich, and from 1988 to Bibbi Lindstrøm. He was a brother-in-law of the military officers Werner Christie and Johan Christie.

Career

Riefling made his concert debut with the

Oslo Philharmonic The Oslo Philharmonic () is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 1871, and was esta ...

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

in 1922, and had his solo debut in 1925. He studied piano in Oslo with Nils Larsen, and from 1928 in Germany with Karl Leimer,

Wilhelm Kempff Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff (25 November 1895 – 23 May 1991) was a German pianist, teacher and composer. Although his repertoire included Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well known for his interp ...

and

Edwin Fischer Edwin Fischer (6 October 1886 – 24 January 1960) was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is regarded as one of the great interpreters of J.S. Bach and Mozart in the twentieth century. Biography Fischer was born in Basel and studied m ...

. In 1936 he won First Prize at the contest ''Interskandinavisk konkurranse'' in Copenhagen. He won 6th Prize at the Concours Ysaye in Brussels in 1938. In 1941 he started ' along with his brother Reimar. During the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

he was arrested and held at

Bredtveit Bredtvet is a neighborhood in the borough of Bjerke in Oslo, Norway. The area is located on a ridge between the neighborhoods of Veitvet to the west and Kalbakken to the east. Its origin was as a farm of the same name. It is not mentioned in w ...

and

Grini concentration camp Grini prison camp (, ) was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945. Ila Detention and Security Prison is now located here. History Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft ...

a few months in 1942 and 1943. He was widely known for his interpretation of 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 ...

, including ''

The Well-Tempered Clavier ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time ''clavier'' referred to a variety of keyboard instruments, ...

'', which he had studied while being imprisoned, and played at concerts in Oslo, Copenhagen and London in 1947. Among his first performances of contemporary compositions are

Klaus Egge Klaus Egge (July 19, 1906 – March 7, 1979) was a Norwegian composer and music critic. Background Egge was born in Gransherad, Telemark, Norway. He was the son of Rasmus Klausen Egge (1874-1962) and Rakel Abrahamsdatter Iversen (1877-1986). He ...

's ''Fantasi i Halling'', a piano concert by

Harald Sæverud Harald Sigurd Johan Sæverud (17 April 1897 – 27 March 1992) was a Norwegian composer. He is most known for his music to Henrik Ibsen's ''Peer Gynt'', '' Rondo Amoroso'', and the ''Ballad of Revolt'' (). Sæverud wrote nine symphonie ...

and Johannes Rivertz' piano suite ''Spill og dans''. Riefling recorded more than 60 albums, including all

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 ...

's sonatas, sonatas by

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

, and all works by

Fartein Valen Olav Fartein Valen (25 August 1887 – 14 December 1952) was a Norwegian composer, notable for his work in atonal polyphonic music. He developed a polyphony similar to Bach's counterpoint, but based on motivic working and dissonance rather than ...

. In 1967, he was appointed professor at the

Royal Danish Academy of Music The Royal Danish Academy of Music, or Royal Danish Conservatory of Music (), in Copenhagen is the oldest professional institution of musical education in Denmark as well as the largest, with approximately 400 students. It was established in 186 ...

in Copenhagen, and a professor at the

Norwegian Academy of Music The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the ...

from its establishment in 1973. He was decorated Knight, First Class of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

, Knight of the Danish

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

, and was awarded the German

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

. Riefling died in Oslo on 1 July 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riefling, Robert 1911 births 1988 deaths Musicians from Oslo Bredtveit concentration camp survivors Grini concentration camp survivors Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog 20th-century Norwegian classical pianists Norwegian expatriates in Denmark