Born: October 22, 1909 - Berlin, Germany
Died: July 13, 1996 - Bremen, Germany

The German organist, pianist, harpsichordist, and pedagogue, Käte van Tricht, was the daughter of a Dutch musician. She was raised in Bremen, where her mother encouraged her not only to take piano lessons, but also to join the Bremen Cathedral Choir at age 8. Van Tricht held her first position as organist at age 19 at the Alte Waller Kirche in Bremen, and in 1930 obtained master's degrees in piano and organ performance at Bremen Conservatory (Staatliche Privatmusiklehrer-Prüfung).

Through the support of Richard Liesche, Director of Music at Bremen Cathedral, Käte van Tricht was appointed Assistant Organist at the Cathedral in 1933. From 1933 until 1937, she studied sacred music, piano performance (with Carl Adolph Martienssen), and organ performance (with Karl Straube), as well as counterpoint (with Johann Nepomuk David) at Leipzig Conservatory. During this time, she also frequently performed as a solo singer under the direction of Karl Straube.

In addition to her activities as Cathedral Organist in Bremen over a period of 40 years, Käte van Tricht launched a highly successful international career as an organ recitalist in the 1950's, and made numerous recordings, both on LP and CD, at Bremen Cathedral. Following her retirement as Cathedral Organist in 1973, she was appointed as lecturer of music at Bremen University.

Source: Wikipedia Website
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (September 2007)

Käte van Tricht: Short Biography | Recordings of Instrumental Works
Reviews of Instrumental Recordings: Review: Goldberg Variations Käte van Trich, organ

Links to other Sites

Käte van Tricht (Wikipedia) [English]
Käte van Tricht (Wikipedia) [German]

Artist Biography of Käte van Tricht (MDG) [German]

Bibliography

Friedemann Winklhofer: Nur einmal richtig glücklich sein. Käte van Tricht (1909-1996): Erste deutsche Konzertorganistin und 40 Jahre Domorganistin in Bremen, in Organ: Journal für die Orgel N. 2 (1999): 22-28