Sophia Rosa Berghout (14 December 1909 - 22 March 1993) was a Dutch harpist.[1][2] Her obituary in The Independent called her "arguably the most influential harpist this century".[1]

Berghout in 1964

Career edit

She was born in Rotterdam on 14 December 1909 and started playing the harp when she was 15 years old.[citation needed] She studied the harp at the Amsterdam Conservatoire with Rosa Spier [de].[2] She played in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, as second harp 1933-1945 and principal harp 1945–1960, as well as having a successful solo career.[3] She taught at the Amsterdam Conservatoire and then, from 1974, at the Maastricht Conservatoire.[3]

Together with Maria Korchinska (1895-1979) she established the International Harpweeks held at Queekhoven near Amsterdam in the 1960s; these developed into the World Harp Congress.[3]

Personal life edit

Berghout married Johannes den Hertog, pianist and assistant conductor of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw: they divorced after a short time.[2] She died in Doorn on 22 March 1993, aged 83.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Salo, Satu (27 March 1993). "Obituary: Phia Berghout". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-26. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Govea, Wenonah Milton (1995). "Berghout, Phia (Sophia Rosa)". Nineteenth- and Twentieth-century Harpists: A Bio-critical Sourcebook. Greenwood. pp. 23–29. ISBN 9780313278662.
  3. ^ a b c "Phia Berghout & Maria Korchinska". World Harp Congress. Retrieved 6 July 2018.