Vita Witek
Danish pianist (1868–1925)
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Vita Friese Gerhardt Witek (September 27, 1868 – June 25, 1925) was a Danish pianist, based in Berlin from 1884 to 1909, and in the United States from 1910.
September 27, 1868
Vita Witek | |
|---|---|
Vita Witek, from a 1915 publication | |
| Born | Vita Friese September 27, 1868 Copenhagen |
| Died | June 25, 1925 (aged 56) Bayreuth |
| Other name | Vita Gerhardt |
| Occupation | Pianist |
| Spouse | Anton Witek |
| Children | Hjalmar Gerhardt |
Early life and education
Vita Friese was born in Copenhagen. She trained as a pianist with Theodor Leschetizky and Teresa Carreño.[1]
Career
In Europe
Gerhardt made her Berlin debut in 1884. She often performed with violinist Anton Witek; they toured together in Europe, and gave the first public performance of Richard Gompertz's "Violin Sonata in G Minor", in 1901.[2] With Russian cellist Joseph Malkin, they formed the Berlin Philharmonic Trio in 1903.[3] She was also known as a conductor in Berlin.[4]
In the United States
Soon after she married Anton Witek in 1909,[5] she moved to the United States,[6] where her husband was concert master of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. They gave recitals together in New York City,[7][8] Baltimore,[9] and Boston.[10] They also continued to play with Joseph Malkin, as the Witek-Malkin Trio.[11][12] She endorsed Mason & Hamlin pianos in advertisements in 1911.[13] She taught piano at the Von Ende School of Music in New York beginning in 1912, and served on the school's board of examiners.[14][15]
Personal life
Vita Friese married twice. She married Anton Witek in 1909. "Frau Witek says emphatically that a woman should not give up music just because she is married," reported The Violinist magazine in 1912.[16] Her son Hjalmar Gerhardt became a musician.[5] She died in 1925, at Bayreuth.[17] Anton Witek remarried in 1926, to an American violinist, Alma Rosengren.[18]