Elisabeth Reiss
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Elisabeth Reiss | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | June 14, 1902 Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway |
| Died | March 8, 1970 (aged 67) Lillehammer, Norway |
| Occupations | Pianist and cabaret performer |
| Father | Georg Reiss |
| Relatives | Thorleif Reiss Helge Reiss |
Aasta Elisabeth Reiss (June 14, 1902 – March 8, 1970) was a Norwegian pianist and cabaret performer.[1][2] She was the daughter of the lawyer, composer, and musicologist Georg Reiss and the sister of the actor Thorleif Reiss.[1][3]
Elisabeth Reiss took early lessons from an influential piano teacher of her time, Nils Larsen,[1][2] who taught her for free because of her great talent. He gave her the following graduation certificate in 1919:
Miss Elisabeth Reiss has been my student for over three years. In 1916, she could barely play a Mozart sonata. In 1917 she publicly played Mozart's D major Concerto (the Coronation Concerto), and in 1918—also publicly—Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major. This illustrates her progress and her ability to work. She is an absolutely excellent Bach player, and she has distinct abilities and a keen sense of modern music and its refined sound effects. For example, compositions by Reger and others. She is versatile and not just "gifted at the piano"—and I would describe her as a radiant talent.[1]
She made her piano debut in 1917 in the Great Hall at Gamle Logen with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 5 in D major concerto (K. 175) with the National Theater's orchestra, conducted by Gustav Fredrik Lange, and the following year she performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major with a full orchestra.[1] In 1920 she received a scholarship for studies in Paris and Vienna, and back in Norway she took classes with Bokken Lasson[1] in the cabaret style, while she continued to give piano concerts to very good reviews, especially for her performances of works by Max Reger, Maurice Ravel, and Claude Debussy.
After a concert in 1928 with the Oslo Philharmonic, with Odd Grüner-Hegge debuting as conductor,[4] Harald Sæverud wrote the following about Reiss in Aftenposten:
It was in the best understanding with the composer that the young lady led the way in this interplay between brilliant melodies and cheerful rhythms, well supported by the orchestra and conductor.[5]
