Name Johanne Fenger | Role Composer | |
Died August 11, 1913, Copenhagen, Denmark | ||
Johanne Fenger (September 5, 1836 – August 11, 1913) was a Danish composer. She belonged to a family with many priests, doctors and officials, she was daughter to the priest Johannes Ferdinand Fenger.
Johanne Fenger never had a permanent employment instead she lived together with her family her whole life, at first with her parent's and later with other relative's. The father was acquainted with B. S. Ingemann and the father and daughter performed for him with song from other countries, which they recommended that he should translate to Danish.
The father was given a new parish in Høje Tåstrup which meant that she was able to travel to Copenhagen with train to receive piano, singing and composition lessons from Leopold Rosenfeld and Edvard Helsted. However her relative (the composer Christian Barnekow) who was president of the Society for publication of Danish music.
After her parents death Johanne Fenger lived with her uncle, a doctor and politician Carl Emil Fenger, she probably tutored his children but taught quire, song and piano. During this time she was a victim to a stroke and became partially blind and started suffering from delusions, between 1885 and 1896 she was treated at a psychiatric hospital. Later the sister Sofie took her home and eventually she became able to play music again.