Ney, Elly (1882-1968)

Ney, Elly

PIANIST (GERMANY)

BORN 27 Sep 1882, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen - DIED 31 Mar 1968, Tutzing, Bayern
GRAVE LOCATION Tutzing, Bayern: Neuer Friedhof, Heinrich-Vogl-strasse

Elly Ney was born into a musical family in Düsseldorf. She grew up in Bonn. She studied piano at the conservatory in Cologne and in Vienna she was taught by Emil von Sauer, himself a former pupil of the great Liszt. She finished her studies in 1904 and then started an international career.

In 1907 she met the dutch violinist Willem van Hoogstraten. They married in 1911 and afterwards performed together. During the twenties they mostly gave concerts in the USA. But their marriage fell apart. After their divorce in 1927 she married Paul Allais, a coal dealer from Chicago, but she would divorce him as well. Even during the American years she regarded Germany as home and she had settled in Tutzing, Bavaria, from where she undertook her tours. In 1932 she formed a piano trio with violinist Max Strub and cellist Ludwig Hölscher.

She was strongly in favour of national socialism and held anti-Semite views. In 1937 Hitler gave her the title of professor as a birthday gift. During the war she was a teacher at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and she was a memeber of several nazi organisations.

The nazi era had damaged her reputation and only in 1952 she was able to resume her career. Until old age she played with technical brilliance and did tours and recordings. She was most famous for her interpretations of Beethoven and Brahms. Actress Eleonore van Hoogstraten her daughter.

Images
The grave of Elly Ney and Willem van Hoogstraten at the Neuer Friedhof in Tutzing. Picture by androom (23 May 2006)	The grave of Elly Ney and Willem van Hoogstraten at the Neuer Friedhof in Tutzing. Picture by androom (23 May 2006)