Ria Ginster - Ria Ginster

Born: April 15, 1898 - Frankfurt/Main, Germany Died: May 11, 1985 - Zürich, Switzerland The German soprano and influential teacher, Ria Ginster, was the daughter of a pianist and choir conductor. From her earliest childhood her musical gift was evident. After high school, she began vocal studies at Dr. Hochs Conservatory in Frankfurt and completed it with a concert singer diploma. She took further studies with the renowned singing coach Louis Bacher at the Academy of Music in Berlin. Already as a student she won numerous awards. From the very beginning of her career Ria Ginster sang on concert platforms of first rank in Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and France as well as in Italy. She concentrated almost exclusively on concert performances and recitals (although she sang Mélisande and Suor Angelica in broadcasts). In 1931 she appeared in England where she was particularly admired in a number of oratorios. She returned to England every year and she was contracted by . Ria Ginster worked with all the great conductors of her time: , , , , , , , , , , , among many others. From 1934 to 1939 she regularly visited the USA and Canada (she also signed a contract with ). In 1938 Ria Ginster took over a class for concert singing at the Music Academy of Zürich where she remained more than 30 years. Her reputation as a singer was transmitted to her teaching and her class soon became an international one. After several concerts with Wilhelm Furtwängler she was invited in 1949 to work as a teacher at the Mozarteum Salzburg. As a visiting professor she also taught for a long time at several universities in the USA. Among her pupils were , , , , and . She died in Zürich in 1985, surrounded and admired by her grateful students.

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